The Monarchy's Children: Tragic Epilogue

The fate of Louis XVI's children—Louis-Charles (Louis XVII to royalists) and Marie-Thérèse—illustrated revolution's cruelty toward innocents. The eight-year-old dauphin, separated from his mother and aunt, suffered physical and psychological abuse from his guardian Simon. Forced to denounce his mother and taught revolutionary songs, the child became a broken creature. His death in prison (1795) from tuberculosis and neglect created martyrdom and mystery—survival legends persisted for decades.

Marie-Thérèse, "Madame Royale," survived imprisonment through remarkable resilience. Exchanged for French prisoners in 1795, she lived in exile nurturing royalist legitimacy. Her memoirs revealed the revolution's human costs while her very survival embodied royalist hopes. The contrast between the pampered princess of Versailles and the traumatized exile showed monarchy's transformation from living institution to historical memory.