Marriage(s) and Relationships: Married to: Archduchess von Austria Marie Antoinette 16 MAY 1770, Versailles, FRANCE
Child:Princess de France Maria Theresa Child:Dauphin de France Louis Child:Dauphin de France Louis XVII Child:Princess de France SophieNotes: Son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony.
Source: Leo van de Pas, Brian Tompsett.
King of France (1774--93), born in Versailles, France, the third son of
the dauphin Louis and Maria Josepha of
Saxony, and the grandson of Louis XV, whom he succeeded in 1774. He was
married in 1770 to the Archduchess
Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa, to
strengthen the Franco--Austrian alliance.
He failed to give consistent support to ministers who tried to reform the
outmoded financial and social structures of the country, such as Turgot
(1774--6) and Necker (1776--81). He allowed France to became involved in
the War
of American Independence (1778--83), which exacerbated the national debt.
Meanwhile, Marie Antoinette's
propensity for frivolous conduct and scandal helped to discredit the
monarchy. To avert the deepening social and
economic crisis, he agreed in 1789 to summon the States General. However,
encouraged by the queen, he resisted
demands from the National Assembly for sweeping reforms, and in October
was brought with his family from
Versailles to Paris as hostage to the revolutionary movement. Their
attempted flight to Varennes (Jun 1791)
branded the royal pair as traitors. Louis reluctantly approved the new
constitution (Sep 1791), but his moral
authority had collapsed. In August 1792 an insurrection suspended Louis's
constitutional position, and in
September the monarchy was abolished. He was tried before the National
Convention for conspiracy with foreign
powers, and was guillotined in Paris.
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