4.6.2. A PRISON THAT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE

THE ROYALS ARE CONFINED IN "THE TEMPLE,"THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS' 13TH-CENTURY STRONGHOLD

The royal gibet is in the background:

    Artist unknown, 1795 / zoom

 

Print sold on Ebay / zoom

  Zoom

The name of a métro station is the only trace now.

Imagine the long ride, with jeers along the way: 

Louis the Last and his Family at the Temple on August 13, 1792 / zoom

# # #

But surveillance was less than at the Tuileries, there were no insults, the food was good and for royals the extremely unusual family life was welcome.

     The Royal Family in the prison of the Temple by Edward Mathew Ward, 1851 / zoom

That intimacy may have led Marie-Antoinette, who had called the king "that poor man," to appreciate Louis XVI for his love for his family, self-control and courage.

-- Stefan Zweig, Marie-Antoinette, 1932, "The Temple" 

Internet (gone)

Louis XVI Educates his Son, anonymous / zoom

For the six months when the king was alive 

their lives may have been surprisingly contented. 

*    *    *

Next,

4.6.3.

Disaster