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| Louis XVIII in Coronation Robes by Robert Lefèvre, 1822 |
As 1824 dawned, it was apparent to all those who knew Louis XVIII that the king was likely not long for this world. His weight had ballooned out of control and he suffered agonising pain from gangrene that had started in his foot and progressed into his spine, whilst his extremities were afflicted by painful gout. Barely conscious at times he struggled on nevertheless, battling his own deteriorating health in an effort to carry out his monarchical duties with some shred of dignity.
For long months Louis struggled on until, on 12th September, word was spread that theatres and business should close in expectation that the king was about to die. Still Louis would not accept his inevitable fate until Zoé Talon, comtesse du Cayla and the king's companion, prevailed upon him to receive the last rites. As the days drew on, a crowd of citizens gathered before the Tuileries to await word of their monarch's death whilst inside, courtiers and officials crowded into the king's private room where they were confronted by an almighty stench from the dying man's extensive gangrene.
Finally, mid-afternoon on 16th September 1824, Louis XVIII died. His exhausted, already partially rotted body was embalmed, dressed in fine garb and put on display. For a month the corpse of the king lay in state and before it was interred in the Basilica of St Denis, Louis XVIII's roaming finally at an end.
Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.
17 comments:
My goodness! Your account of these events is always intriguing but today's grabbed me with its graphic image of a natikn preparing to grieve and the pungency of that stench from the gangrenous Louis XVIII. Thanks for that... :)
My pleasure; enjoy breakfast!
Such a sad story! I can imagine he was concerned when Napoleon escaped.
Crimes, definitely!
Good Lord. What a gruesome story, Catherine!
Not like me at all!
Louis XVIII hesitated a long time before fleeing Paris and France to Belgium in 1815. He toyed with the idea of staying in the Tuileries Palace along with the elected assemblies and confront Napoleon upon his arrival in the capital. Maybe he feared retirement more than he feared Napoléon: Maybe the allies would not appoint him again in case Napoléon was defeated a second time. He was, and they did.
Poor old Louis!
Eww.... not nice. Mind, you wonder how many elderly people are in a similar state one way or another now!!!
Sadly, I suspect you're right.
I have seen pictures of terrible gangrene in people's feet and hands, usually from diabetics. Sometimes the fingers and hands fall of by themselves (yucky, yuck yuck). I see them on an Instagram account from a Patologist's Assistant called @mrs_angemi. See at your own risk - though totally interesting.
Yuck indeed!
Louis XVIII suffered a similar fate as his forefather, King Louis XIV who also died of gangrene.. Louis XVIII was a good king, forgiving all revolutionaries but his relatives were not that forgiving I am afraid. The nature of his obesity is not well known, it could be diabetes or a gland malfunctioning. He was a very clever intellectual and had he not been ill his reign would have been a smashing success. His marriage had been a sham as his wife was a slob and had two miscarriages. She was whispered to be overly fond of her lady-in-waiting and was buried seperately by her brother on Sardinia. When not so fat the prince was a moderate ladies-man and had a mistress even in his old age who spent a lot of his money.
Oh, i forgot to add that Louis XVIII was fond of his nephew, the Duke of Angouleme, who was very shy and arranged his marriage
if you ever felt inclined to write "The House of Bourbon" you will have a ready purchaser in myself.... :-)
I believe rather than exile in Belgium he was enconsed at Hartwell House in Bucks for a considerable period and treated very well by the British establishment
Great article thanks! I have an 1824 diary that mentions his death. See my posts on Facebook at Addicted to Diaries
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