Ludwig XVII.

Louis XVII, whose birth name was Louis-Charles, was born on 27 March 1785 at the Palace of Versailles as the second son and third child of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. At birth, he received the title Duke of Normandy. After the death of his elder brother Louis-Joseph on 4 June 1789, he became heir to the French throne at the age of four. His mother loved him deeply and affectionately called him “Chou d’amour.” During his early childhood, he was cared for chiefly by Agathe de Rambaud, who looked after him from birth and became especially close to him. Louis-Charles was regarded as an intelligent child with an exceptionally good memory. Rumors that Axel von Fersen, rather than Louis XVI, was his biological father were rejected by most historians. The prince’s childhood unfolded during the French Revolution. In October 1789, an angry crowd forced the royal family to leave Versailles and move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. There, they lived under increasingly strict guard and were effectively held captive. Louis-Charles and his sister Marie-Thérèse were an important source of comfort to Marie Antoinette. In 1790, the queen also adopted a girl named Zoë to serve as her son’s companion. In June 1791, the family tried to leave Paris secretly and reach the royalist troops stationed at Montmédy. Louis-Charles was disguised as a girl and initially believed that the escape was some kind of theatrical performance. The family was recognized at Varennes, however, and returned to Paris under close revolutionary guard. The journey back was marked by insults, humiliation, and violence. These experiences probably left deep psychological scars on the young boy. After the storming of the Tuileries on 10 August 1792, the royal family first sought protection in the legislative assembly and, a few days later, was taken to the Temple Tower. At the Temple, Louis-Charles initially received lessons from his father in mathematics, history, geography, and literature. The family was nevertheless treated as ordinary prisoners and required to use the surname Capet. Fearing secret messages, the guards confiscated paper, ink, and pencils. Eventually, even his mathematics lessons were restricted because the guards suspected that they might be used to teach him a code. Louis XVI’s trial began on 11 December 1792. Shortly before his execution, the king was allowed to see his family one last time. He took his son in his arms and asked him never to seek revenge for his death. Louis-Charles promised through his tears that he would obey. After his father was executed on 21 January 1793, French royalists and several European monarchies declared him the lawful king of France and Navarre. His uncle, the future Louis XVIII, who was living in exile, claimed the regency on his behalf. Louis XVII, however, never actually ruled. In July 1793, the eight-year-old boy was forcibly separated from his mother, sister, and aunt. The Paris Commune placed him in the care of the shoemaker Antoine Simon and his wife, who were instructed to educate him in the republican spirit. Louis-Charles was compelled to repeat revolutionary slogans, sing revolutionary songs, and accuse his mother and other members of his family. Statements made by the child under considerable pressure were used in the prosecution of Marie Antoinette. Historians therefore consider these accusations unreliable as evidence. Marie Antoinette was guillotined on 16 October 1793; Louis-Charles probably never learned of her death. After the Simons left the Temple in January 1794, his prison conditions deteriorated dramatically. Louis-Charles lived largely isolated in a dark, damp, and filthy room. He received inadequate food and almost no human attention. His physical condition steadily worsened: he became weak and emaciated and suffered from painful sores and swollen joints. Only after Paul Barras noticed his neglect in the spring of 1794 did he receive better care. Jean Jacques Christophe Laurent, and later Gomin, looked after him, arranging a cleaner room, walks on the tower roof, books, and games. Even so, Louis-Charles remained deeply unhappy, spoke less and less, and longed for his mother and sister. His particular love of birds remained with him until the end. From late October 1794 onward, he stopped speaking altogether. His health worsened again in the spring of 1795. The physician P. J. Desault treated him but died unexpectedly in June. Doctors Philippe-Jean Pelletan and Jean-Baptiste Dumangin then took over his care. Louis-Charles suffered severe weakness, an enlarged abdomen, and chronic diarrhea. During his final days, he was plagued by fever, vomiting, and hallucinations. He believed that his mother was still being held in a neighboring tower and imagined hearing her voice and music. On 8 June 1795, Louis-Charles died at the Temple at the age of ten, in the arms of the prison overseer Étienne Lasne. The autopsy revealed numerous pathological changes. The cause of death was attributed to a prolonged tuberculous illness, particularly tuberculosis of the lymph nodes. Old scars and injuries were also found, although their origin could not be established with certainty. Louis-Charles was buried without a gravestone at Sainte-Marguerite Cemetery on 10 June 1795. His body was never securely identified afterward. During the autopsy, the physician Pelletan secretly removed the child’s heart. After passing through several royalist families, the relic eventually reached the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Mitochondrial DNA tests published around 2000 showed a match with Marie Antoinette’s maternal line. This confirmed with a high degree of probability that the heart belonged to Louis-Charles. In 2004, it was ceremonially buried at Saint-Denis beside the remains of his parents. Rumors arose immediately after his death that Louis-Charles had been rescued from the Temple and replaced with another child. During the nineteenth century, numerous men came forward claiming to be Louis XVII. The best known was Karl Wilhelm Naundorff, who told an elaborate escape story and attracted supporters in France. DNA tests disproved his claim in 1993. Other claimants, including Baron de Richemont and the American preacher Eliézer Williams, were likewise unable to substantiate their identities. Historical research today concludes that Louis-Charles really did die at the Temple. His fate is regarded as a symbol of the humanitarian consequences of political radicalization and of how a child became a victim of state violence amid the upheavals of the French Revolution.