Louis << LOO ee or lwee >> XVII (1785-1795), a son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, was regarded as king of France by supporters of the French monarchy for two years during the French Revolution (1789-1799). His full name was Louis-Charles de France.
Louis-Charles was born in Versailles, France, on March 27, 1785. He became dauphin (crown prince) of France at the age of 4, after his older brother died at the start of the French Revolution. In August 1792, Paris revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy and imprisoned the boy and his family. Following the execution of his father, Louis XVI, in January 1793, an uncle of Louis-Charles proclaimed him King Louis XVII in defiance of those who supported the revolution. Louis’s mother was executed in October of that year.
Although gravely ill, Louis spent most of the last months of his life in solitary confinement, under filthy and degrading conditions. He died on June 8, 1795, and was buried in an unmarked grave. Louis is sometimes called the lost dauphin.
