During the French Revolution, the executions of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette shocked
Europe.
Many in France feared invasion because the people executed their monarchy, but after
there was a regime in place known as the Reign of Terror.
This was a fearsome time in which anyone who said one word of dissent against the Revolution,
or did one small action that was interpreted as dissenting would lead to execution.
Maximilien Robespierre led this, but he too would be taken to guillotine along with thousands
of other people in France.
But one forgotten member of the French royal family who was executed was the sister of
King Louis XVI, Elisabeth of France.
She was a French Princess, and at the same place that her brother was executed she too
lost her head on the guillotine.
But what is the story of the horrific execution of Elisabeth of France, remember to support
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Elisabeth was born on the 3rd May 1764 and was the youngest child of Louis the Dauphin
of France.
Her grandparents were King Louis XV and the Queen Maria, but following the sudden death
of her father in 1765, Elisabeth’s older brother Louis became the dauphin and the heir
apparent.
They mother died in 1767 leaving Elisabeth an orphan at the age of 2 along with her siblings.
Elisabeth was raised by her governess alongside her sister Clothilde, and the pair were very
different.
Elisabeth was considered a proud and passionate child, and she was given a brilliant education
befitting her status as a royal princess.
She was schooled in history, geography and other interesting skills such as botany and
religion.
In her free time she went for walks in the park, but at some point Elisabeth wished to
focus on other things rather than school, and she got to a point where she was not too
bothered by her education.
But in 1770 her oldest brother married Marie Antoinette of Austria, and Marie described
Elisabeth as delightful and favoured her over her sister.
But on the 10th May 1774 her grandfather died, and her elder brother then became the King.
But her sister then left for France the following year, and the sisters tearfully partied.
It was said by Marie Antoinette that, ‘My sister Elisabeth is a charming child, who
has intelligence, character, and much grace; she showed the greatest feeling, and much
above her age, at the departure of her sister.
The poor little girl was in despair, and as her health is very delicate, she was taken
ill and had a very severe nervous attack.
I own to my dear mamma that I fear I am getting too attached to her, feeling, from the example
of my aunts, how essential it is for her happiness not to remain an old maid in this country.’
Elisabeth left the children’s chamber and became an adult in 1778 it was considered
and she was given her own household.
There were many attempts to make marriage arrangements for Elisabeth, and she was seen
by her brother as someone who could help secure alliances for France.
One suggestion was the Prince of Brazil, but then the Duke of Aosta, the future King of
Sardinia.
But a marriage was then agreed between her and her sister’s brother in law Joseph II
the Holy Roman Emperor.
He said he was attracted to her, but at court there was some opposition to this, and then
no further arrangements were made.
Elisabeth said, ‘ "I can only marry a King's son, and a King's son must reign over his
father's kingdom.
I should no longer be a Frenchwoman.
I do not wish to cease to be one.
It is far better to stay here at the foot of my brother's throne than to ascend another.’
Elisabeth was not seen as an important royal during the French Revolution, and she saw
the court as lavish and extravagant, and she actually distanced herself from it.
She only attended when it was necessary, and she was certainly smarter than the King and
Queen.
Elisabeth did have great respect for her brother, and she did stand by him, but her relationship
with Marie Antoinette was mixed.
The pair were both different, and Marie found Elisabeth delightful, but Elisabeth was close
to her aunts who were against Marie at court and they treated her with animosity.
Elisabeth would criticise Marie, and her extravagant behaviour especially as the French people
were suffering.
She was given land and other houses by the King, and she was given Montreal, a place
where the King did not allow her to spend nights until she was 24.
But whilst here she enjoyed gardening and taking part in many different activities.
She distributed charity to the local villagers, and she was she did help when she could, having
her farm tended to with the locals getting the food and goods.
But as the French Revolution, Elisabeth refused to leave and emigrate, even after the storming
of the Bastille and she saw the women’s march on Versailles and immediately returned
to the palace.
She advised her brother the King to repress the riot quickly, but the advice was not accepted.
The mob stormed the palace and tried to assassinate the Queen, but Elisabeth then went with the
royal family to Pairs.
She lived with them, and was housed besides the Queen on the first floor.
But women had climbed into her apartments one evening, but Princess Elisabeth did have
a good reputation with the public.
She was seen differently to Marie Antoinette, and she spent her evenings working on tapestries,
but she had a better reputation than the Queen.
She chose yet again to remain in France, but she did try to escape in June 1791.
But the escape plan did fail, and the royal family were then placed under survillance.
No one was told to guard over Elisabeth, and she was free to leaver whenever she wanted
but she did not.
But Elisabeth was seen as different from the King and Queen to begin with, but she then
knew that something bad would happen to the royal family.
The royal court believed there would be an attack on the palace, and she witnessed her
brother’s dethronement.
She was described as calm when this happened, but following the execution of the King, Elisabeth
was left with Marie Antoinette in their apartment.
When she was moved, Elisabeth asked to stay in contact, but Marie was executed on the
16th October 1793.
Her last letter she wrote was addressed to Elisabeth, but she never received it.
Accusations during her trial were levelled against Elisabeth, but after the overthrow
she was not considered dangerous by Robespierre.
They intended to banish her from France, but she was then accused of having been part of
secret meetings with Marie Antoinette and then conspiring against the French People.
She was said to have sold her diamonds to help fund a war and also to having arrange
a massacre of the people storming the palace.
Elisabeth knew this was wrong, and she was taken under arrest and was then escorted and
held in a single cell.
She refused a public defender, and she was tried along with 24 other accomplices including
10 women.
During her trial she was accused of being an accomplice of the revolution, and following
this she was sentenced to death as the sister of the tyrant king.
Her death sentence was a little bit unfair and she was to be executied on the guillotine.
Following her trial, Elisabeth joined the other condemned prisoners inside the hall
of the condemned awaiting their execution.
She rallied and comforted other condemned people before their executions and it was
said, ‘she spoke to them with inexpressible gentleness and calm, dominating their mental
suffering by the serenity of her look, the tranquility of her appearance, and the influence
of her words.’
Elisabeth was to be executed along with the 23 men and women who had been tired and condemned
at the same time as her.
As she approached the guillotine, the white cloth which covered her head was blown off,
and she was the only person with a bare head in the procession of the dead.
As she reached the foot of the guillotine there was a bench for the condemned to wait
before their execution.
Elisabeth left the cart first and made her own way down, but then she was the last to
be executed.
One woman bowed for her as she went on to the gallows.
She helped the others through their ordeal and the last person before her gave her his
bow, and she said ‘courage and faith in the mercy of God,’ before it was her turn.
As she was summoned to the guillotine, she was strapped to the board and her shawl fell
off and she exposed her shoulders,’ She said to the executioner, ‘in the name of
your mother cover me.’
But as the blade fell on her neck, the execution struck a chord with many of the bystanders.
They did not issue a rallying cry in favour of the revolution, and they were respectful.
Robespierre himself was concerned about the effect of her death, and it only made people
question the reign of terror.
Her remains were then buried in common grave and they were later disinterred with other
victims of the guillotine and were placed inside the catacombs of Paris.
Elisabeth of Paris was practically executed for the sole reason as the fact she was the
sister of the King.
Many people believed she was a supporter of the royalists, but she was critical of the
King and Queen throughout her life.
She was a dedicated and devoted woman who gave herself to charitable causes and her
faith, and she saw the French Revolution as an evil on earth.
But at the guillotine she was brutally executed.
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