One of the most shocking and historic moments in European History was when the French King
made his way to the scaffold on the 21st January 1793 in Paris. He had been guilty of high
treason and for this was beheaded by the guillotine, but King Louis XVI did not die a King. He
had been stripped of the title, and the monarch was abolished in September 1792 with the First
French Republic proclaimed. His wife Marie Antoinette would later follow him to the scaffold
a while later, but Louis’ execution was a rather swift yet brutal moment in History.
To execute a King was a incredibly severe thing to have done. But what is the story
of his execution? Join us today as we look at, ‘The BRUTAL Execution Of King Louis
XVI of France.’ Remember to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
King Louis ascended onto the throne in 1774 when he was 19 years old, and he inherited
a country already in turmoil. At the time the government was grossly in debt, and there
was also a growing resentment in France of the monarchy. He doubted his ability to deal
with issues, and he did wish to be liked by the population, saying ‘It may be considered
politically unwise but it seems to me to be a general wish and I want to be loved.’
He was determined to do his best and be a good king, and he wished to consult the public
on a number of affairs, but his reign was plagued with poor decisions, scandal and economic
suffering. Louis did accept attempts by his ministers to relieve the economic issues in
France, but one of the biggest issues was that Louis was in support of the colonists
in the American War of Independence, and by providing financial support to them it plunged
France to the verge of bankruptcy.
He himself was seen as a big spender in the country, and at the time his population were
beginning to suffer greatly. There was a crisis with people not being able to afford food
and to pay for it, leading to people starving. In a last ditch attempt to solve the financial
problems, Louis assembled the estates general, the National Assembly that represented the
3 estates or classes of the French people, the nobility, the clergy and the commoners.
This had not been gathered for over 170 years, but the commoners used it to declare itself
the National Assembly and beginning the spark of the French Revolution.
To the French people, Louis and his Queen Marie Antoinette were seen as lavish spenders,
and Marie also had began to become a figure of hatred as she was known for spending huge
sums of the countries money on decorations, furniture, clothes and extravagant things
for herself. Whilst the people were suffering, Marie and Louis were having banquets and this
was seen as grossly inappropriate. The storming of the Bastille occured on the 14th July 1789,
where protesters in Paris stormed the state prison seen as a symbol of the monarchy’s
power and they broke in to ransack the prison and steal weapons and ammunition. This was
seen as a huge moment in the Revolution, and things continued to go downhill after this.
In October 1789, an angry mob marched on Versailles and forced the royal couple to move.
Louis tried to escape in June 1791, and this was seen that he was betraying the French
people and consulting with foreign powers to deal with the rebels. However he was captured,
and was forced to accept a new constitution. In August 1792, the royal couple were arrested,
and were then imprisoned separately. Louis was arrested on the 13th August and was sent
to the Temple and ancient fortress used in Paris as a prison, and within weeks the National
Assembly declared France a republic and abolished the monarchy.
The King was kept under arrest and was seen as a hostage, but he was seen as dangerous
as it was predicted invading forces would try to save him. Evidence was found about
his negotiations with Austria and other foreign countries and for this the King was placed
on trial. On the 11th December 1792 he was taken from his prison to stand before the
convention and to hear the charges put before him. Before the trial began he tried to mount
his defence, and he told his lawyers that he knew he would be found guilty and would
be killed. He was resigned to accept his fate and he knew what was coming, but he wanted
to go down fighting. There were 3 questions that the convention were voting on, the first
was is Louis guilty, the second was should there be an appeal to the people and the third
was what should the punishment be for him.
On the 15th January 1793, the convention began to vote and in total it took 36 hours to reach
a decision. He was found overwhelmingly guilty, however there was a significant problem as
to what the punishment should be. By just one vote, the sentence of death was passed
for Louis and he was condemned to death by just one vote. A reprieve was voted down the
next day, and it was voted that his execution should be conducted as swiftly as possible.
His execution was scheduled for the 21st January 1793 and his death sentence was rather controversial.
To many it was seen as bringing the long awaited end of the thousand year period of absolute
monarchy in France, and the beginning of democracy in the Nation. Others saw it as a senseless
act of bloodshed, and that is showed France was heading towards a violent and immoral
society.
On the morning of his execution, Louis woke early. He dressed with the help of his valet,
Jean Baptiste Clery and he then went to meet with an Irish priest, Henry Essex Edgeworth
and made his last confession. Here he heard his last mass and was given communion. The
priest advised Louis to avoid saying goodbye to his family as it would be too difficult,
and at 7 oclock he passed his final wishes onto the priest. The royal seal was to go
to the Dauphin and his wedding ring to Marie his queen. He then went to meet the commander
of the guard, and in the Second court a green carriage waited for him.
He climbed aboard it, with the priest and two guards who sat opposite tem. The carriage
carrying the King left Temple at 9 o’clock, and for more than an hour drummers played
to drown out any support that there was for the King, and they escorted the carriage through
Paris.
The route was lined wit 80,000 men at arms, and the cavalry who led the carriage had their
sabres drawn. There was a plot to try and break out the King to save him by royalists,
but this never came to anything. At 10 o’clock, the carriage arrived at the Place de la Revolution,
and here a scaffold had been created with a guillotine standing on it. It was surrounded
by soldiers, who had guns and drums and also by a crowd who were armed with pikes and bayonets.
He was approached by the executioner Sanson who along with his assistants tied Louis’
hands together. The King’s hair was then cut to ensure that the execution went swiftly
and he then removed his shirts collar and was led up to the scaffold by the executioner.
It was said by his priest that, The path leading to the scaffold was extremely rough and difficult
to pass; the King was obliged to lean on my arm, and from the slowness with which he proceeded,
I feared for a moment that his courage might fail; but what was my astonishment, when arrived
at the last step, I felt that he suddenly let go my arm, and I saw him cross with a
firm foot the breadth of the whole scaffold; silence, by his look alone, fifteen or twenty
drums that were placed opposite to me; and in a voice so loud, that it must have been
heard at the Pont Tournant, I heard him pronounce distinctly these memorable words: "I die innocent
of all the crimes laid to my charge; I Pardon those who have occasioned my death; and I
pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France.’
Whilst on the scaffold, Louis tried to give a long speech, however a drum roll was ordered
and this led to his execution being quickened. The noise made his speech hard to understand,
and with this he was then fastened quickly to the guillotine’s bench. With Louis strapped
to the board, he was then swiftly slid under the guillotines yoke to hold his head in place.
Once the signal was given that he was in position, the blade was released and it quickly beheaded
him. The executioner Sanson then grabbed the severed head of the King out of the basket
where it fell and showed it to the cheering crowd. One report said that the blade did
not sever his neck and instead cut through the back of his skull and into his jaw, but
as the king’s head was showed a number of the crowd rushed to the scaffold to dip hankerchiefs
in the King’s blood.
Executioner Charles Henry Sanson told of the events that day, ‘Arriving at the foot of
the guillotine, Louis XVI looked for a moment at the instruments of his execution and asked
Sanson why the drums had stopped beating. He came forward to speak, but there were shouts
to the executioners to get on with their work. As he was strapped down, he exclaimed "My
people, I die innocent!" Then, turning towards his executioners, Louis XVI declared "Gentlemen,
I am innocent of everything of which I am accused. I hope that my blood may cement the
good fortune of the French." The blade fell. It was 10:22 am. One of the assistants of
Sanson showed the head of Louis XVI to the people, whereupon a huge cry of "Vive la Nation!
Vive la République!" arose and an artillery salute rang out which reached the ears of
the imprisoned Royal family.’
Another account recited to French Author Victor Hugo stated, Here are some unknown details.
The executioners numbered four; two only performed the execution; the third stayed at the foot
of the ladder, and the fourth was on the wagon which was to convey the King's body to the
Madeleine Cemetery and which was waiting a few feet from the scaffold.
The executioners wore breeches, coats in the French style as the Revolution had modified
it, and three-cornered hats with enormous tri-colour cockades.
They executed the King with their hats on, and it was without taking his hat off that
Samson, [sic] seizing by the hair the severed head of Louis XVI., showed it to the people,
and for a few moments let the blood from it trickle upon the scaffold.’
Louis XVI’s body was then transported to the old Church of the Madeleine, and was buried.
It was said that, ‘Arriving at the cemetery, I called for silence. A detachment of Gendarmes showed
us the body. It was clothed in a white vest and grey silk breeches with matching stockings.
We chanted Vespers and the service for the dead. In pursuance of an executive order,
the body lying in its open coffin was thrown onto a bed of quicklime at the bottom of
the pit and covered by one of earth, the whole being firmly and thoroughly tamped down. Louis
XVI's head was placed at his feet.’ Later his remains and his Queen’s were reburied
inside the Basilica of Saint Denis.
The execution of King Louis XVI was a pivotal moment in the history of France. It symbolised
the end of the corrupt monarch that had been bleeding the country dry in the subsequent
decades before, and the beginning of the revolution that led to democracy. France did suffer in
the years following with turmoil and many more executions came, but the King’s along
with his wife’s was seen as the most significant.
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