Louis XVII Dauphin – seated

Louis XVII (1785-1795) was the second son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and is known as the “lost dauphin” because rumors of his survival were rampant following the Revolution. Some rumors even placed him in the French colony of Louisiana, a territory soon to be sold to the United States. He almost certainly died in prison. A few weeks before her execution, Marie Antoinette was separated from her children. They never saw their mother again. Her son was taught to sing disgusting songs under her cell window. The jailer’s rough treatment contributed to his death in prison two years after his mother’s execution.