Louis Joseph Xavier François de France was the elder son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and Dauphin of France from his birth in 1781 until his death from tuberculosis at Meudon on June 4, 1789. His death during the opening weeks of the French Revolution transferred the succession to his younger brother, Louis-Charles.
Background
Louis Joseph was born at the Palace of Versailles on October 22, 1781, as the second child and first son of Louis XVI, king of France, and Marie Antoinette. His birth fulfilled the monarchy's need for a direct male heir and secured his position as Dauphin, the traditional title of the eldest son and heir apparent of a reigning French king.
His private household was established from birth. Geneviève Poitrine served as one of his wet nurses, while Antoine Charles Augustin d'Allonville served as his sous-gouverneur. The young prince was regarded as unusually bright, but his health remained fragile. He suffered recurrent fevers from childhood, and later medical examinations revealed severe disease of the spine associated with tuberculosis.
Education
Louis Joseph did not attend a university or a conventional public school. In 1786, when he was five years old, responsibility for his education was transferred from the women's household to male instructors, in accordance with the customary education of the sons of French kings. The royal educational service was intended to prepare the heir for his ceremonial, dynastic, and governmental position, although his declining health limited the time available for instruction.
The education of a Dauphin took place within the court environment of Versailles, the principal royal residence and administrative center of the French monarchy during his childhood. His later removal to the Château de Meudon was undertaken because the court considered its air more suitable for his failing health; Meudon was a royal residence southwest of Paris with a long association with the French crown.
Career
Louis Joseph held the formal status of Dauphin of France from birth. The Dauphin was the direct male heir to the French throne, and the office placed him at the center of dynastic succession even though his age and illness prevented him from exercising political authority. As a prince of the French royal family, he maintained a household under appointed governors and instructors.
His health deteriorated through recurrent fevers and progressive spinal disease. In 1784 he was taken to the Château de Meudon, where the court hoped the change of air would improve his condition, and he returned there in 1785 for smallpox inoculation. In April 1789, as his illness advanced, he was moved permanently to Meudon. He died there on June 4, 1789, during the meeting of the Estates-General that marked the opening phase of the French Revolution. His younger brother, Louis-Charles, immediately became the new Dauphin.
The funeral arrangements reflected both the formal status of the deceased prince and the financial pressures facing the monarchy. Louis XVI ordered relatively simple obsequies rather than the elaborate ceremony traditionally associated with a Dauphin. Louis Joseph's body was transferred to the royal necropolis at the Basilica of Saint-Denis on June 13, 1789, while his heart was placed at the Val-de-Grâce. His tomb at Saint-Denis was later desecrated during the French Revolution.
Achievements
Louis Joseph was commemorated in the creation of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, established in 1785 and named for the Dauphin of France in recognition of France's assistance to the American colonies during the American Revolutionary War.
Personality
Contemporary descriptions preserved in accounts of the royal household presented Louis Joseph as an intelligent child whose physical health was notably fragile. Accounts of his final months also describe him as interested in reading, maps, games, and contact with other children.
Physical Characteristics:
His illness produced severe spinal curvature and difficulty walking. A post-mortem examination recorded extensive disease affecting the vertebrae and a pronounced curvature of the spine.
Interests
Agriculture, maps, reading, and children's games.
Connections
Louis Joseph was the eldest son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. His elder sister was Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, and his younger brother was Louis-Charles, who succeeded him as Dauphin in June 1789. His household included Geneviève Poitrine, one of his wet nurses, Antoine Charles Augustin d'Allonville, his sous-gouverneur, and Yolande de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, who was closely connected with the household of the royal children.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette visited him during his final illness at Meudon. His death caused a major change in the order of succession: the title of Dauphin passed to Louis-Charles, who was later known during the Revolution as Louis XVII, although he never effectively reigned.
Father:
Louis XVI
King of France and Louis Joseph's father.
Mother:
Marie Antoinette
Queen of France and Louis Joseph's mother.
Sister:
Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte de France
Louis Joseph's elder sister, later known as Madame Royale.
Brother:
Louis-Charles de France
Louis Joseph's younger brother, who became Dauphin of France after his death.
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, History
Explains that Dauphin County was named in honor of the eldest son of the French king in recognition of France's aid to the American colonies during the American Revolution.
