On This Day In History: King Louis XVI Of France Was Formally Arrested And Declared An Enemy Of The People – On August 13, 1792

AncientPages.com - On Aug. 13, 1792, the National Tribunal in Paris formally arrested King Louis XVI of France and the royal family, including Queen Mary Antoinette, the king’s son and heir to the throne, the king’s daughter, and the king’s sister Madame Elisabeth.

Memorial to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, sculptures by Edme Gaulle and Pierre Petitot in the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Image credit: Eric Pouhier  - CC BY-SA 2.5

King Louis XVI  was officially declared an enemy of the people.

They were sent to the Temple – a former Templar Fortress in Paris used as a prison. This Templar Fortress was built back in the Middle Ages.

On Sept. 21, the National Assembly declared France a Republic and abolished the Monarchy. Louis was stripped of all of his titles and honors and was known only as Citoyen Louis Capet from this date.

Capet was the surname of the French royal dynasty, inherited from king Hugo Capet, who reigned in the 10th century.

Convicting evidence against Louis was later found, and he was tried (Dec.–Jan.) at a revolutionary tribunal.

Found guilty by a unanimous vote, he was sentenced to death by a vote of 361 to 288, with 72 calling for a delay.

He was guillotined on Jan. 21, 1793, facing death with courage.

AncientPages.com