On 23 August 1754, Louis Auguste was born to his father Louis, the Daupin of France and his mother Marie-Joséphe of Saxony, daughter of Prince-Elector of Saxony. Louis-Auguste was very shy as a child, most of this could be due to his parents neglecting if him in favour of his older brother, the bright and handsome Louis, duc de Bourgogne, who died at the age of nine. Although Louis-Auguste was quite bashful, he was still absolutley strong, healthy, and quite intelligent. He excelled in most of his studies, being the strongest in subjects such as: Latin, history, geography, and astronomy; he was also fluent in Itallian and English. Louis-Auguste's intilect strength was matched by his physical strength. He enjoyed physical activities such as rough playing with his younger brothers and hunting with his granddaughter. Louis-Auguste became the Dauphin of France when his father died 20 December 1765; his grief stricken mother died two years after. From that moment on Louis received a strict and conservative education, in an attempt to prepare him for the throne, from the Duc de La Vauguyon, "governeur des Efants de France" ( govoner of the Children of France). Throughout this education, he studied religion, morality, and humanities. His instructor, Abbé Berthier, taught Louis-Auguste many strange lessons, such as timidity was a value in strong monarchs, that may have turned Louis-Auguste into the indicisive King he became. His confessor, Abbé Soldini instructed Louis not to let the people read his mind. On the 16 May 1770, at the age of 15, Louis-Auguste married the fourteen year old Maria Antonia, which is Marie Antoinette in French. She was the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his wife, the formidable Empress Maria Theresa. The marriage was arranged in order to create an alliance with France and the Habsburgs, however it was meet with skepticism by members of the French court, as they rememberd a previous alliance with the Habsburgs that got France involved in the Seven Years War. At first the people of France were charmed by Marie Abroinette's personality, however, eventually they came to despise her, accusing her of being promiscuous and too sympathetic to the enemies of France. From the start, the marriage was cordial but distant; this was due to Louis-Auguste's shyness and this issue also resulted in his failing to consulate his marriage. This caused Marie Antoinette much stress because the nonconsumated marriage threatened the alliance. Although the marriage started out tough, the couple gradually became closer and closer and they finally consummated their marriage in 1777. Nevertheless the couple still failed to produce an heir, and of course, the court noticed. The infertility of the couple was mocked by obscene pamphlets, for instance, one questioned "Can the King do it? Can't the King do it?" However, after all the problems and complications, Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette finally had their first child on 19 December 1778. Louis-Auguste succeeded to the throne of France, at the age of nineteen, as Louis XVI. With France's government deeply in debt, and resentment towards an"tyrannical" monarchy on the rise, Louis XVI felt unprepared for his role as King. He lacked the strength of character and decisiveness needed to combat the influence of court factions and support reformers on their attempts to improve France's government. During the early years of his reign, Louis XVI focused on religious uniformity and foreign policy, for example, he invoked an edict granting Franch non-Catholics legal right to openly practice their faith. Louis also successfully supported the American colonies fight for independence from Fance's long time enemy Great Britain. The policy of not raising taxes and taking out international loans, however, increased the debt and drove France close to bankruptcy by the mid 1780s. Consequently, the king was forced to support radical fiscal reforms, which was neither favoured by the nobles or the people. When the pressure on Louis increased, he reverted back to his earlier teaching of being uncommunicative and not responding to others who offerd help. Because of his failure in responding to France's problems, the Revolution sparked and would eventually grow uncontrollably. In 1789, Louis XVI was quickly deteriorating. In May of that year, in an attempt to fix the fiscal crisis in France, he gathered the Estates General, which was an assembly of the three social classes ( the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners). However, this assembly had the opposite effect and the the Third Estate, the commoners, declared itself the National Assembly; they also had plans to develop a constitution. In response, Louis XVI declared the Assembly null and void and he sent in the army to restore order, however, the people formed a National Gaurd and resisted the King; consequently, the king was forced to acknowledge the National Assembly's authority. Louis pacified the tension for a little while by saying he would acquiesce to their demands, however, as a result of the bad advice from the nobility, he resisted the demands. On 6 October 1789, the royal family was forced to move from Verailles to Paris, and Louis was advised to abdicate all his rsponsibilities as king, but nevertheless, Lohis refused and agreed with an attempt to escape to the eastern frontier in June 1791; this plan failed and Louis and his family were brought back to Paris, and Louis lost all his credibility as a monarch. Louis hoped that a war with Austria would pave his way back to authority; during this time many had suspicions of treason against the king and his powers were suspended. On 21 September 1792, the Legislative Assembly proclaimed the First French Republic. Louis XVI had now been given the name " Citizen Louis Capet". In November of that same year, proof of Louis secret dealings were found and he and his family were found guilty of treason and were condemned to death. On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was guillotined at the Palace de la Revolution…nine months later Marie Antorinette suffered the same fate.
0 Comments
"They saw in the arms of this princess whom they had watched suffer great persecutions with so much staunchness, their child-king, like a gift given by Heaven in answer to their prayers." -Madame de Motteville On the 5 September 1638, something special happend in France; Queen Anne had given birth to the longed for heir to the throne of France. Christened Louis-Dieudonné, "Gift of God", he proved to be one of France's greatest kings, however, he also faced many hardships during his early life. Louis was barely four years of age when his father Louis XIII died and he succeeded to the throne, and to make matters worse, Louis inherited an incredibly ridiculously unstable government that would later revolt. From the moment of his succession, he was educated like a future king, on more practical subjects rather than scholarly ones. Louis was tutored in Politics, History, and in The Arts by his godfather Cardinal Jules Mazaria who also served a his chief minister and would serve as a mentor to him. Many times during his childhood, Louis experienced neglect, by both his mother and also his governer Nicolas de Neufville, who once left Louis unattended, and consequently, Louis almost drowned in a nearby pond. When Louis was 9, members of Parliament rebelled against his godfather with the intention of overthrowing the crown; it grew into a civil war, called The Fronde. During this lengthy and turbulent period of conflict, Louis experienced many gruesome hardships, which left him so impoverished he was on the verge of starvation. However, miraculously, his godfather and chief minister victored over the rebels of parliament, and furthermore, began to rebuild a intricate administration and government; this very much influenced Louis's views on government and politics. At this time, Louis was thought to be of age to take on his position of king completely, however, afraid to question his godfather's authority he stood down in the background. While Cardianal Mazarin was busy being Louis's chief minister, it was Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini, who caught his eye and they were together for several years. However, his duty to France made this love affair unable to contenue further, Louis was made to marry Marie-Thérèse of Austria, the daughter of the King of Spain. Although this was only a marriage of convienience, not of love; this marriage was the seal to a peace treaty between France and Hapsburg Spain. From the time Louis succeeded to the throne his mother Anne, served as his regent, yet Cardinal Mazarin possessed much of the real power in the early reign of the king. In 1661, Mazarin died and Louis, who was now in his early 20s, finally took full control of his Kingdom; he quickly went to work reshaping Fance to fit his aspirations. His first order of business was to centralize and stableize France's government by promoting industrial growth and declaring the members of the nobility exempt from paying taxes, thus, making them more dependant on the crown. When Louis took full political control, he made radical changes in France, however, when it came to the world stage, he planned to make a even bigger impact. Louis XIV is very well known for his radical approach to foreign policy; in 1667, launched the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands; Louis believes t was his wife's rightful inheritance. The War of Devolution, ended shamefully when the French surrenderd the land back to Spain. In response to this defeat, Louis then got France involved in the France-Dutch War that lasted from 1672 to 1678. After this victory, Frane acquired the status of a dominant power, however Louis still hungerd for more, and as a result, Louis launched campaigns to expand France's territorial claims through military force, thus making France a great threat to other European countries. When Louis wasn't waging war, he was a romantic lover. Louis was never in love with his wife, thus, he was never faithful. He took many mistresses, both official and unofficial, and he even had children by some. To name a few there was: Louise de La Valliére, with which he had six children, Bonne de Pons d'Heudicourt, and there was Françoise-Athénais, marquise de Montespon, with whom he had seven children. Louis married his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, whom he met while she was caring for his child by Madame de Montespon. They were secretly married at Versallies on 10 October 1683 or in January 1684. The date is not known for a fact, for the marriage was never public ally announced or discussed however it remained an open secret until Louis death. The end of Louis XIV life was just S tragic at the beginning; all but two of his direct descendants died, the public began to dislike him as a result of him attempting to establish religious uniformity, and the war against the Grand Alliance drained France's resources drastically. Just five days before Louis XIV 77th birthday, he died of gangrene on Versailles, France. His five year old great-grandson inherited the throne and became Louis XV. In the court of King Louis XIV extravagance and opulence filled the atmosphere; the grandiose Château de Versailles was the grand stage on which the magnificent court rituals were performed, all of which revolved around the King,in the same way the heavenly bodies revolve around the sun. Court life for Louis XIV was so extravagant, that even the King waking up was a performance in a large and elaborate ceremony. The first levee, which is what the Kings rising was called, commenced at 7:30 as the first Valet de Cahmbre awakens the King with the words "Sire, it is time." Not long after, doctors and the Kings favourites piled into the bedroom for the Kings washing and shaving. Next was the Grand Levee, the most prestigious and exclusive ceremony that took place at Versailles, for only the most important courtesans were allowed inside. During this time, the officers of the wardrobe would enter and dress the king. After the Levee, The King in all his regal majesty, processed down the glorious Hall of Mirrors followed by his courtesians. Eager crowds gathered on each side of the Hall, hoping for atleast a glimpse of the King; a select few had the opportunity of a brief word with him. At 11 am The King held council in his cabinet, where he was in full control, consequently the ministers did more listening than speaking. Louis famous declared L'État, c'est moi, I am the State, taking full political control. At 2 the King announced the planned activities for that evening, weather it was a hunt, a carriage ride, or a promenade in the gardens. At 10pm, once again, large crowds gathered into the antechamber of the Kings apartments. The Gand Public Super would take place, where the King would eat surrounded by members of the royal family. Afterwards he went into the salon to converse more freely with his guests, family, and close friends. The Kings day ended just as it started, with a slightly less elaborate ceremony called the Couchée. Hello members of La Cour Royale, In a few days I am about to release a series about the French Royal Court. This will include the many ceremonies that took place at Versailles, profiles of the last three French Kings, and French Consorts and mistresses. This is gonna be very fun for me, for this is one of my favourite time periods in royal history to study. Keep your eyes out for it the first one will be released in the next few days! Blake |
AuthorHello All! My name is Blake Johnson and I am a passionate royalist and Monarchist. It would be my pleasure to entertain and inform you with all things royal, weather it be history or royal news. I now invite you all to be members of La Cour Royale. Categories
All
|