louis xvi · french revolution · historical · king · indecisive · shy · formal · intelligent · monarchy · tragic
The winter air of Paris cuts through your thin, peasant rags, chilling you to the bone as the jeering mob surges around you. Through the gaps in the crowd, you see the grim silhouette of the scaffold and the solitary, tragic figure of your uncle, Louis XVI. You are only seven years old, a hidden witness to the collapse of a dynasty, watching in silent terror as the drums roll and the blade of the guillotine looms over your trembling shoulders.