History UsefulNotes / LouisXVI

* Anime/RoseOfVersailles
* Film/MarieAntoinette - Played by Jason Schwartzman.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/640px-antoine-franois_callet_-_louis_xvi_roi_de_france_et_de_navarre_1754-1793_revtu_du_grand_costume_royal_en_1779_-_google_art_project_1211.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Portrait by Antoine-François Callet]]

* {{Nerd}}: Intelligent, check; socially awkward, check; physically awkward, check[[note]]Louis XVI waddled and was highly mocked in the court because of it[[/note]]; no girls, check[[note]]He didn't seduce Marie Antoinette to marry her and didn't have mistresses. Even better, he ''wasn't interested'' in having one[[/note]], odd projects, check[[note]]locksmithing and scientific expeditions[[/note]]. The one thing that doesn't fit is physical fitness; like all Bourbons, Louis spent hours a day on horseback to hunt. As being a King is largely a work of representation, this trope proved ''disastrous''. UsefulNotes/LouisXV was also shy and interested in sciences, but at least he was handsome and had loads of mistresses.

* {{Nerd}}: Intelligent, check; socially awkward, check; physically awkward, check[[note]]Louis XVI waddled and was highly mocked in the court because of it[[/note]]; no girls, check[[note]]He didn't seduce Marie Antoinette to marry her and didn't have mistresses. Even better, he ''wasn't interested'' in having one[[/note]], odd projects, check[[note]]locksmithing and scientific expeditions[[/note]]. The two elements that don't fit are physical fitness and social popularity (Louis XVI was highly popular until 1791, when he used his veto, and above all, tried to flee France). As being a King is largely a work of representation, this trope proved ''disastrous''. UsefulNotes/LouisXV was also shy and interested in sciences, but at least he was handsome and had loads of mistresses.

* DesignatedVillain: A nice, thoughtful shy Prince, who genuinely cared for his subjects and wanted to be loved ended up being executed by the people because they saw him as too weak. As noted by Napoleon above, and several others, if Louis XVI had truly been the tyrant the propaganda had described, it was unlikely that there would have been a Revolution on the same scale. Alexis de Tocqueville noted that Louis XVI's attempt to improve France after his predecessor hastened his downfall, and from this he noted that obsolete governments will ultimately destroy themselves by "too little, too late" reforms rather than being a total irresponsible hedonist like UsefulNotes/LouisXV.

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: In 1787, Louis XVI famously said "''Yes, it is legal. It's legal because I want it!''" when he forced the ''parlement'' to validate one more public loan to manage the national debt. He was answering to the Duke of Orleans who had said "''This is illegal!''" (the Duke got exiled for his trouble).

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: In 1787, Louis XVI famously said "''Yes, it is legal. It's legal because I want it!''" when he forced the ''parlement'' to validate [[ViciousCircle one more public loan to manage the national debt]]. He was answering to the Duke of Orleans who had said "''This is illegal!''" (the Duke got exiled for his trouble).

* DesignatedVillain: A nice, thoughtful shy Prince, who genuinely cared for his subjects and wanted to be loved ended up being executed by the people because they saw him as too weak. As noted by Napoleon above, and several others, if Louis XVI had truly been the tyrant the propaganda had described, it was unlikely that there would have been a Revolution on the same scale.

* TheDitherer: His most universally recognized flaw. His repeated flips-flops lost him the trust of the patriots, dooming him and the monarchy. All of his reign can be resumed through this sequence: Louis agrees with some reform or energic[[note]]i.e. despotic[[/note]] measure -> said reform faces fierce opposition or no longer suits him after some reflection -> he steps back on this reform/measure.

* TheDitherer: His most universally recognized flaw. All of his reign can be resumed through this sequence: Louis agrees with some reform -> said reform faces fierce opposition or no longer suits him after some reflection -> he steps back on this reform and/or goes with the flow. His repeated flips-flops lost him the trust of the patriots, dooming him and the monarchy.

* ''Beaumarchais l'insolent'' - 1996 French film about the author of ''The Marriage of Figaro''. Louis XVI listens to the play and bans it because of its criticism of aristocracy.

* YoungAndInCharge: He was 20 when he came to power and died at the age of 38. Most depictions, save for ''Film/MarieAntoinette'' neglect this and usually cast older actors in the role of the King.

* ''Beaumarchais l'insolent'' - 1996 French film about the author of ''The Marriage of Figaro'' and ''The Barber of Seville''. Louis XVI listens to the play and bans it because of its criticism of aristocracy.

* TragicVillain: A nice, thoughtful shy Prince, who genuinely cared for his subjects and wanted to be loved ended up being executed by the people because they saw him as too weak. As noted by Napoleon above, and several others, if Louis XVI had truly been the tyrant the propaganda had described, it was unlikely that there would have been a Revolution on the same scale.

* HiddenDepths: Louis XVI provided crucial support to UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and had his finance minister, Jacques Necker, provide funds for the war effort by raising loans from foreign banks. He also banned the use of torture in France to which the revolutionaries stuck.

* HappilyMarried: He and Marie Antoinette, he created [[ValuesDissonance a scandal]] for being completely faithful and devoted to her. This was definitely a bourgeois rather than an aristocratic trait.

Initally, Louis XVI was quite open to new ideas and embracing some of UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment reforms. Where his precessor had brutally shut down the parliaments[[note]]Though parliaments proved shortly before the Estates Genetal to be [[ItsAllAboutMe only interested]] in keeping their [[{{Greed}} privileges]], not really any political reform, and even less social reforms[[/notes]] and railed against any reforms whatsoever, the King wanted to be popular and lessen some of the malcontent against his rule. In 1787, He signed into place the Edict of Versailles, which ended 102 years of Catholic subjugations of Protestants and Jews under the noxious Edict of Fontainebleau, giving them legal rights and civil status, a primitive form of reform that paved the way for the more decisive initiatives of the Revolution. The King's financial advisors -- Malesherbes and Turgot -- however faced opposition when they tried to put new taxes on the nobles, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who despite having the money did not want to pay]]. Indeed, it was for reasons of solving a growing economic crisis and issuing monetary reform that Louis XVI convoked the meeting of the Estates-General in 1789, the first time in 150 years. This decision gave political representation and brought on to the national stage a generation that was as young as the King and with comparatively little political experience. The corrupt nobility and clergy regarded the King's reforms with scorn and they urged him to sideline the Third Estate, this led to the Tennis Court Oath and the forming of the National Assembly. A decision to send troops to Paris triggered the Fall of the Bastille and the real beginning of Revolution.

'''Louis XVI''' (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791. Upon accepting the 1791 Constitution, he became "King of the French"[[note]]A title that would be revived in the July Monarchy[[/note]]. He became King as a young man (20 years of age) and his reign coincided with - UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment, the IndustrialRevolution, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution.

The grandson of UsefulNotes/LouisXV, the Dauphin Louis Auguste inherited a system of absolute monarchy. All power was centralized in Versailles and invested with the personality and majesty of the King. The problem with this system was that it needed a ruler to have special fortitude and political genius. Coupled with this, Louis XVI wasn't raised to be the successor. Indeed he was neglected in his childhood in favor of his handsome older brother, Louis, Duc de Bourgogne. The death of his brother at the age of nine placed him next in line of succession. As a Prince, he had been noted for being physically active, constantly at ease at outdoors as well as being highly fit. He was also well educated in history, geography and literature, and was able to speak several languages. At the age of 15, he married the 14 year old UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette. Being personally quite timid and introverted, he didn't consummate his marriage with her at first. This fact led to quite a scandal at Versailles and Louis XVI was subject to much scorn and ridicule for being so prudish, which was considered highly unbecoming of a French King, especially in light of his predecessor [[LoveableSexManiac Louis XV le bien-aimé]]. They consummated their marriage in due course of course and had several children, and in time the royal couple fell in love.

Initally, Louis XVI was quite open to new ideas and embracing some of UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment reforms. Where his precessor had brutally shut down the parlements and railed against any reforms whatsoever, the King wanted to be popular and lessen some of the malcontent against his rule. He signed into place the Edict of Versailles, which ended 102 years of Catholic subjugations of Protestants and Jews under the noxious Edict of Nantes, giving them legal rights and civil status, a primitive form of reform that paved the way for the more decisive initiatives of the Revolution. The King's financial advisors -- Malsherbes and Turgot -- however faced opposition when they tried to put new taxes on the nobles, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who despite having the money did not want to pay]]. Indeed, it was for reasons of solving a growing economic crisis and issuing monetary reform that Louis XVI convoked the meeting of the Estates-General for the first time in 150 years. This decision gave political representation and brought on to the national stage a generation that was as young as the King and with comparatively little political experience. The corrupt nobility and clergy regarded the King's reforms with scorn and they urged him to sideline the Third Estate, this led to the Tennis Court Oath and the forming of the National Assembly. A decision to send troops to Paris triggered the Fall of the Bastille and the real beginning of Revolution.

The Revolution was regarded by the nobility and the royal family as, understandably, an existential threat. This became even more clear after the, Women's March to Versailles, which brought the King to the long abandoned Tuilleries Palace and made him a virtual prisoner to the National Guard, most of them drawn from Parisian radicals. The King was placed in virtual house arrest with his wife and children, under constant scrutiny. In the early years of the Revolution, the reformists and the people regarded Louis XVI as a good man, surrounded by bad advisors and they tended to scapegoat the Queen as a LadyMacbeth type. Some of them (Mirabeau) even went behind the backs of the convention to provide advise to the King on becoming a more popular monarch. This fiction ended with the Flight to Varennes, where Louis and his family tried to escape the Tuilleries but not before sending a letter denouncing his treatment and the trajectory of the Revolution. He failed and was brought back to Paris but with his popularity in tatters.

The Constitution of 1791 which the King subsequently accepted gave him a veto on most state decisions as well as insisted that the King was inviolable. This ended with the Storming of the Tuilleries. The Royal Family took support with the Legislative Assembly who subsequently declared a Republic, the result being that the King was no longer protected by any laws, paving the way for his execution.

His death by execution marked the end of Ancien Regime, absolute monarchy, feudalism and the Divine Right of Kings as a concept of sovereignty.

* HappilyMarried: He and Marie Antoinette, he created [[ValuesDissonance a scandal]] for being completely faithful and devoted to her.
* HiddenDepths: Louis XVI provided crucial support to UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and had his finance minister, Jacques Necker, provide funds for the war effort by raising loans from foreign banks.

* ''Jefferson in Paris'' - Merchant-Ivory film which chronicles UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson's time as French Ambassador in the late 1780s. Michel Lonsdale plays the King.

* TragicVillain: A nice, thoughtful shy Prince, who genuinely cared for his subjects and wanted to be loved ended up being executed by the people because they saw him as too weak. As noted by Napoleon above, and several others, if Louis XVI had truly been the tyrant people described him to be, it was unlikely that there would have been a Revolution on the same scale.

* Film/MarieAntoinette - Played by Creator/JasonSchwartzman.

* EmbarassingNickname: He was labelled Monsieur Veto for abusing the Royal Veto given to him by the 1791 Constitution. They also called him Louis Capet or Citizen Capet (used in his trial).

* TragicVillain: A nice, thoughtful shy man who wanted to be loved ended up being executed by the people because they saw him as too weak.
* WouldntHitAGirl: During the Women's March to Versailles, he told his guards under no circumstances were they to fire at them.
* YoungAndInCharge: He was 20 when he came to power and died at the age of 38. The powdered wig in most of his portraits makes him OlderThanYouLook.

His death by execution marked the end of Ancien Regime, absolute monarchy, feudalism and the Divine Right of Kings as a concept of sovereignty.

'''Louis XVI''' (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791. Upon accepting the 1791 Constitution, he became "King of the French"[[note]]A title that would be revived in the July Monarchy[[/note]]. He became King as a young man (20 years of age) and his reign coincided, as the famous "Chinese Curse" goes, with "interesting times" - UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment, the IndustrialRevolution, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution.

The Revolution was regarded by the nobility and the royal family as, understandably, an existential threat. This became even more clear after the, Women's March to Versailles, which brought the King to the long abandoned Tuilleries Palace and made him a virtual prisoner to the National Guard, most of them drawn from Parisian radicals. The King was placed in virtual house arrest with his wife and children, under constant scrutiny.

Initally, Louis XVI was quite open to new ideas and embracing some of UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment reforms. Where his precessor had brutally shut down the parlements and railed against any reforms whatsoever, the King wanted to be popular and lessen some of the malcontent against his rule. He signed into place the Edict of Versailles, which ended 102 years of Catholic subjugations of Protestants and Jews under the noxious Edict of Nantes, giving them legal rights and civil status, a primitive form of reform that paved the way for the more decisive initiatives of the Revolution. The King's financial advisors -- Malsherbes and Turgot -- however faced opposition when they tried to put new taxes on the nobles, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who despite having the money did not want to pay]]. Indeed, it was for reasons of solving a growing economic crisis and issuing monetary reform that Louis XVI convoked the meeting of the Estates-General for the first time in 150 years. This decision gave political representation and brought on to the national stage a generation that was as young as the King and with comparatively little political experience.

His death by execution marked the end of Ancien Regime, absolute monarchy, feudalism and t