Did Louis XVI start the French Revolution?

The day is now commemorated in France as a national holiday and the start of the French Revolution. For a time, it seemed that Louis XVI could mollify the masses by saying that he would acquiesce to their demands. read more

Louis XVI was the last king of France (1774–92) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. He was executed for treason by guillotine in 1793. Our privacy policy has been updated. read more

Under the Revolution Louis XVI coined first as constitutional king, in gold, silver, and copper; but from 1793 the issues were wholly republican, with the inscriptions République français, Liberté, etc., and the symbols (cap of liberty, cock) that have survived in modern French coinage. read more

Louis XVI, 1781 © Louis was king of France when the monarchy was overthrown during the French Revolution. He was guillotined in 1793. Louis was born at Versailles on 23 August 1754. In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette, daughter of the emperor and empress of Austria, a match intended to consolidate an alliance between France and Austria. read more