The Fall of the Monarchy

The summer of 1792 saw the final collapse of royal authority. The arrival of provincial fedérés, particularly the Marseillais with their revolutionary song, created an atmosphere of impending violence. Marie Antoinette sensed the approaching catastrophe, writing to Fersen: "Our position becomes more terrible each day. We are alone, abandoned by all."

On the night of August 9, the tocsin rang across Paris, signaling insurrection. Marie Antoinette spent the night awake, fully dressed, waiting. At dawn on August 10, crowds began massing around the Tuileries. The queen urged Louis XVI to fight, to die sword in hand rather than submit. His refusal to risk bloodshed led to their flight to the Legislative Assembly for protection.

The royal family's walk from the Tuileries to the Assembly, through hostile crowds in the morning heat, was Marie Antoinette's last public appearance as queen. She carried Louis-Charles, held Marie-Thérèse's hand, and maintained composure despite catcalls and threats. They were placed in the stenographer's box, caged literally and figuratively, while deputies debated their fate.

As they sat imprisoned, they could hear the sounds of massacre from the Tuileries, where Swiss Guards and loyal servants were being slaughtered. Marie Antoinette learned later that her friend the Princesse de Lamballe was among the victims, her head paraded on a pike past the queen's window. The old world was dying in blood and fire.

The Assembly voted to suspend the monarchy and imprison the royal family. That night, they were transferred to the Temple, a medieval fortress that would be their prison. As their carriage passed through Paris, crowds shouted "Down with the tyrants!" Marie Antoinette looked out once, then closed her eyes. She would never see the Tuileries again.