Doomed Facts About Louis XVI, The Last King Of France
Nearly 1,000 years of French Monarchy all led to Louis XVI. There were a lot of terrible kings in that time. Ruthless schemers, deranged madmen, and extravagant hedonists. Yet it was Louis XVI who paid for their crimes. So where did it all go wrong? How did Louis end up with his head lying at the base of a guillotine? Dive into this doomed monarch's dark history and find out for yourself.
1. He Grew Up In The Ritz
You ever go back to your childhood home and realize it's a lot smaller than you remember? Louis XVI wouldn't know what that's like: He was born Louis-Auguste in the opulent Palace of Versailles in 1754.
He had every comfort, every luxury that you could imagine from the moment he was born. But while life in the palace was fancy, Louis did lack for one thing: His parents' love.
From the moment Louis was born, he could never be anything other than second best, for one reason.
2. He Shouldn't Have Become King
Louis XVI ended up being a terrible king, but cut him a little slack: He was never supposed to be king in the first place. You see, Louis had an older brother, and because this was France, he was also named Louis. His older brother was bright, handsome, and charismatic; the perfect choice to become king one day. Their parents showered their eldest with praise and gifts while mostly ignoring the younger Louis-Auguste.
The neglect had a profound effect on the man Louis later became—but his grandfather's treatment of him was even worse.
3. His Family Looked Down On Him
Those close to young Louis XVI described him as intelligent, yet extremely shy and withdrawn. Apparently, his grandfather, King Louis XV, didn't have patience for that. He outwardly called his grandson "ungainly" and "dimwitted" and, like the boy's parents, lavished all of his attention on Louis' much more impressive older brother.
But this isn't the story of Louis XVI, brother to the king of France. In 1761, a terrible tragedy changed the course of history forever.
4. He Lost His Brother
Louis' older brother, the golden child, suddenly fell ill when he was just nine years old. Doctors tried everything they could to save him, including a risky operation while the boy was still completely conscious, but there was nothing they could do.
The boy passed, and the loss devastated the family. Louis had to deal with the loss of his brother and the sudden pressure of realizing he was now in line to inherit the throne.
But he didn't have much time to think about that for now. They say deaths come in threes, and for Louis' cursed family, that proved true.
