I have been having nightmares about the French revolution.
For my summer reading list I decided to find out what happened to Marie Antoinette's children.
Two children went into the tower with her.
Only one came out.
This is the child that is haunting me.
Louis XVII.
He was eight years old when he went into custody with his parents. After both his parents were killed he was literally bricked into a cell.
Alone.
Two years later he was dead.
How he died and at who's hands made me decide to put away my french history books for the rest of the summer. I can't even write what the autopsy discovered after the child died. It is horrific.
Alone.
Two years later he was dead.
How he died and at who's hands made me decide to put away my french history books for the rest of the summer. I can't even write what the autopsy discovered after the child died. It is horrific.
People always say you have to put history into context.
That the times were different.
Beliefs were different.
Sorry. I am not buying it.
There has never been a time in history where the systematic murder of a child would or should be acceptable. The children or Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis paid a very high price for the French revolution. Their daughter survived the ordeal and managed to leave France. Her life story is very interesting. She knew all about Napoleon and it was clear he had no intention of allowing her to even visit France again as long as he was in power.
So I started to wonder.
Where was Napoleon when the children were still in the tower after the death of their parents?
Did he have any power? Did he know what they did to King Louis's child?
This is a portrait of Napoleon with all the children in his family. It is well documented that he loved children and that they loved him.
I have to hope that had he known he might have sent the army to help rescue the children.
So I am pausing this month
to remember
the orphaned child king of France.
One of the books I read this summer is "The Lost King of France." This book documents the greatest example of DNA mystery solving.
"A fascinating blend of royalist plots, palace intrigues and modern science, The Lost King of France is a moving and dramatic tale that interweaves a pivotal moment in France's history with a compelling detective story."
1 comment:
Thanks for your post. It haunts my nightmare too. Doing research for work on the french evolution I too leaned about the young child and what happened to him does indeed haunt me and possibly all the more because I have a 4-year old son. I don't know if I'm brave enough to read the book. I think it's nice when women look at history - it gives it a whole different perspective.
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