King Louis XVI Execution

On 21 January 1793, a 1000-year reign came screeching to a halt, shattering the divine right of kings and forever changing the course of French history. It shocked rulers and subjects alike across Europe. On this day King Louis XVI was executed at the guillotine, the first and only monarch to be executed in French history. How did this astonishing turn of events come about?

King Louis XVI Execution Timeline

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King Louis XVI Execution Background Facts

King Louis XVI ascended the throne in 1774. His wife was Marie Antoinette, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress of Austria. Her foreign origins made her an unpopular choice of Empress.

Fig. 1 - Portrait of King Louis SVI

Louis XVI’s reign was marked by a steadily worsening financial crisis from the onset. He aided the American Revolutionaries with ships, despite his Controller-General (Minister of Finance) warning that France could not afford them.

Louis XVI’s attempts to avoid bankruptcy led to the collapse of his reign. He went through successive Controller-Generals, who failed to stop the impending crisis. When he tried to introduce new taxes on the nobility and clergy, the parlements (high courts), the Assembly of Notables, and then the Estates-General obstructed him in 1789.

Long-Term Causes of King Louis XVI Execution

This section will dive into the long-term causes of King Louis XVI’s Execution.

King Louis XVI Execution American Revolution

After the crushing defeat by the British in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the French desired revenge. The opportunity presented itself when the North American colonies were fighting for their independence from the British Empire.

During the American War of Independence (1775–1783), France was on the rebels’ side, providing them with financial and military support. France’s involvement was crucial in the defeat of the British. However, France’s involvement worsened its already crippling economy, costing the French 1,066 million livres. The Controller-General (Minister for Finance) financed the war by raising loans instead of taxes, putting the Crown into significant debt.

After the American Revolution was successful, 8,000 soldiers returned to France, having witnessed a political revolution. The language of liberty and no taxation without representation would have appealed to a France wary of despotism. The historian Simon Schama argued that ‘For France, without question, the Revolution began in America.’ ¹

King Louis XVI execution financial crisis

In 1786 the Controller-General (Minister for Finance) informed the King that the Crown was on the verge of bankruptcy with a deficit of 112 million livres. The Controller-General tried to introduce a range of reforms such as removing the nobility and the Church’s exemption from the taille.

The parlements (high courts and judges) who were made up of nobility blocked these reforms. Louis XVI met with the Parlement of Paris on 19 November 1787 to persuade them to his side. There he famously exclaimed ‘It’s legal because I wish it’ which many saw as a statement of despotism. His attempts to sway the parlements failed and they continued not to enforce the new reforms.

Louis XVI looked for support elsewhere. He convened the Assembly of Notables in 1787, hoping they would support his economic reforms. The Notables were a group of nobles, high-ranking clergymen, and magistrates selected by the King. But the Notables were worried about the legality of these reforms. They instead argued that only the Estates-General had the right to approve taxation. The Estates-General was convoked on 8 August 1788.

Fig. 2 - An example of a livre (coin)

King Louis XVI Execution Political Crisis

As the Estates-General had not been convoked in a long time, many debated the procedure that should follow. The King agreed that the Estates voted by order rather than letting representatives vote individually. This decision provoked outrage from the Third Estate, who knew that if the First and Second Estates voted together, they would always be able to out-vote the much larger Third Estate.

Fig. 3 - The storming of the Bastille

In June 1789, the Third Estate broke off from the Estates-General and pronounced itself as the National Assembly. The King’s attempts to repress the National Assembly led to protests in the streets of Paris. The king’s soldiers joined the mob, storming the Bastille in July 1789. The Bastille was royal prison, a sign of the ancien regime (old regime).

Throughout the summer and autumn of 1789, famine and rising food prices caused rioting in the cities and the countryside. In October the situation escalated when women in Paris marched to the King’s palace in Versailles, known as the March on Versailles. Armed, they forced Louis XVI and his family to leave their palace and marched him back to Paris. The King was forced to reside in the smaller, damper Tuileries Palace.

Contrary to popular belief, the early aims of the Revolution were not to get rid of the King. The National Assembly wanted a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain’s. This only lasted for a year (September 1791 – September 1792). What caused the fall of the constitutional monarchy and King Louis XVI’s eventual execution?

Short-Term Causes of King Louis XVI Execution

This section will dive into the short-term causes of King Louis XVI’s Execution.

King Louis XVI Execution: Flight to Varennes

On 20 June 1791, Louis XVI attempted to flee with his family to France’s eastern border. They were likely trying to cross the border into the Austrian Netherlands, where Marie Antoinette's family could support them and raise an army for them. They only got as far as Varennes, where they were caught and forced back to Paris.

Fig. 4 - The arrest of Louis XVI and his family in Varennes on 22 June 1791

Before Louis XVI had escaped Paris, he left behind a memorandum (a letter). The memorandum denounced the Revolution and the idea of a constitutional monarchy. This damning evidence fuelled hostility against the King, who was (probably accurately) accused of fleeing to launch a Counter-Revolution. It meant that the constitutional monarchy got to a rocky start in September 1791.

Despite this watershed moment of anger against the King, Louis XVI survived for another year. Why was this?

King Louis XVI Execution: War with Austria

France’s war against Austria both boosted the King’s popularity and destroyed it. In August 1791, Austria (whose Emperor Leopold II was Marie Antoinette’s brother) and Prussia (now Germany) issued the Declaration of Pillnitz. This declaration threatened France with retaliation if they harmed the monarchy. Instead of cowing the revolutionaries into submission, France declared outright war. Louis XVI enjoyed brief popularity when he approved this decision.

Fig. 5 - Portrait of Marie Antoinette, 1775

Though France initially enjoyed military success, it soon faced multiple military crises. In July 1792, the Austrian commander the Duke of Brunswick issued the Brunswick Manifesto. The Manifesto declared that Austria would restore Louis XVI to the throne. This inflamed views of an aristocratic plot of Counter-Revolution between Louis XVI and the enemy (Austria and Prussia).

The effect that the declining fortunes of war had on Louis XVI’s fate can be seen in the two journées of the Tuileries palace in 1792. The first Tuileries journée was on 20 June 1792, before the Austrians crossed the French border. In this journée, the crowd seized the King but he managed to survive the crisis. But by the second Tuileries journée, on 10 August 1792, the Austrian army was about to cross the French border, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion. Armed sans-culottes and fédérés seized and arrested the King. In September, the monarchy was abolished, establishing the First French Republic.

Fig. 6 - The storming of the Tuileries Palace

King Louis XVI execution: Armoire de fer

In November 1792, incriminating letters were discovered in one of Louis XVI’s iron chests (armoire de fer) in the Tuileries Palace. These secret papers exposed the King’s conspiracy against the revolutionaries. It became impossible for his supporters to pretend that the King believed in the reforms of the French Revolution.

King Louis XVI Execution

How was King Louis XVI’s execution carried out? What were his last words? Let’s find out.

King Louis XVI Execution: Trial

The National Convention, a parliament, was set up to deal with the problem the monarchy posed to the Revolution. Some of the Convention's factions, like the radical Montagnards, wanted to execute the King, while the more moderate Girondins wished to keep him alive as a hostage in the war. The Armoire de fer (iron chest) scandal turned the tide against the Girondins.

On 11 December 1792, the King stood in front of the Convention to hear his indictment. He was accused of high treason by betraying the nation to the Austrians. On 15 January 1793, the Convention arrived with the verdict. Out of 721 deputies 693 found Louis XVI guilty and 361 voted for his execution.

King Louis XVI Execution: Last Words and Speech

On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine and beheaded in the Palace de la Revolution. He delivered a short speech:

His wife, Marie Antoinette, was also convicted of treason. She was guillotined on 16 October 1793.

Fig. 7 - Execution of King Louis XVI

Significance of the Execution of King Louis XVI

The execution of Louis XVI sent shockwaves across Europe. Neighbouring rulers were equal parts outraged and wary, fearful that the Revolution would spread throughout Europe. This act of regicide challenged the divine right of kings – the idea that a king was God’s representative on earth.

Horror and conservative backlash from Britain soon led to France declaring war on them. Austria, the birthplace of Marie Antoinette, escalated military aggression. Soon most of the dominant powers in Europe became embroiled in the conflict, including Spain, Portugal, Naples, and the Dutch Republic.

The chaos that followed Louis XVI’s execution saw a Europe engulfed in war, civil war in the Vendee, and the infamous reign of Terror.

Consequences of Louis XVI’s Execution

What were the consequences in the years that follow Louis XVI’s execution?

The Reign of Terror

After the death of Louis XVI, the Reign of Terror consumed the country in 1793. The Terror was formed to prevent a counter-revolution by executing and imprisoning political enemies. It quickly devolved into vigilante or mob justice. A key architect of the Terror was Maximilien Robespierre.

The Restoration of the Monarchy

Though Louis XVI was nicknamed the ‘Last King of France’ by his detractors, he would not be the last. After the fall of Napoleon I in 1814, the monarchy was restored. Louis XVI’s brothers and distant cousin ruled until 1848. The true last King of France would be Napoleon III, Napoleon I’s nephew who reigned from 1848–1870.