Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France

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For other uses of "Louis, Dauphin", see Louis, Dauphin (disambiguation).

Louis Joseph
Louis XVI of France
MotherMarie Antoinette

Louis Joseph Xavier François (22 October 1781 – 4 June 1789) was Dauphin of France as the second child and first son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. As son of a king of France, he was a fils de France ("Child of France"). Louis Joseph died aged seven from tuberculosis and was succeeded as Dauphin (and thus heir-apparent) by his four-year-old brother Louis Charles.

Biography

Louis Joseph Xavier François de France was born at the

comte de Provence
, of succeeding his brother Louis XVI.

His private household was created upon his birth. He was under the care of

Yolande de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, one of his mother's favourites. His sous-gouverneur was the Maréchal de camp Antoine Charles Augustin d'Allonville. His wet nurse was Geneviève Poitrine
, who was later accused of transmitting tuberculosis to the young Dauphin.

Louis Joseph was very close to his sister and to his parents, who watched attentively over his education. He was always praised for being a very bright child for his age; however, it soon became apparent that he was of fragile health.

Illness

Bust of Louis-Joseph by Louis-Pierre Deseine (Musée de la Révolution française, Vizille, Isère)

Around April 1784, when he was three years old, Louis Joseph had a series of high fevers. Out of fear for his health, he was transported to the

Château de La Muette[1] where the air was reputed to have healing properties. The time spent at La Muette seemed to have helped Louis Joseph recover, and almost a year later, in March 1785, he returned there and was inoculated against smallpox
. However, his health remained fragile.

In 1786, the fevers returned, but his household regarded them as being of no importance.[citation needed] These fevers, however, were the first signs of tuberculosis. In the same year, Louis Joseph's education was turned over to men, as was customary for the sons of the kings of France. At the ceremony, it was noted that Louis Joseph had trouble walking, which was in fact caused by a curvature of the spine – something which was treated through the use of metal corsets. By January 1788 the fevers grew more frequent and the disease progressed quickly.

Louis Joseph died at the

Basilica of St Denis. On 10 August 1793, on order of the National Convention during the Reign of Terror, his tomb was desecrated, together with those of the kings and queens of France, members of the royal family, high dignitaries, and abbots.[2]

At the death of Louis Joseph, the title of Dauphin passed to his younger brother

Temple prison
in Paris.

Legacy

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun; the Fleur-de-lis
of France and the Bourbons can be seen behind on the cabinet

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in which Harrisburg is located, is named after him.[3] The Pennsylvania legislature, meeting in Philadelphia in 1785, named the newly formed county northwest of Lancaster and north of York to thank France for helping the United States win her independence from the British Empire. Within the county, the borough of Dauphin, so named when it was incorporated in 1845, is thus indirectly also named for him.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Personal property of his father, Louis XVI.
  2. ^ Suzanne Glover Lindsay, "The Revolutionary Exhumations at St-Denis, 1793", in Conversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion (2014).
  3. ^ Henry Gannett (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. p. 100.

Bibliography

History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

External links

Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 22 October 1781 Died: 4 June 1789
French royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Louis Auguste
 		Dauphin of France
22 October 1781 – 4 June 1789 		Succeeded by
Louis Charles
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