Most Recent Royal Ceremony in France: The Funeral of Louis XVII in 2004
One of the mysteries of the French Revolution was the question of what had happened to the Dauphin, the heir apparent of King Louis XVI, after the execution of the King and Queen. Though it was generally believed that he had died in prison, popular legend had spoken of the young prince being spirited away from his prison and living in exile.
In 2004, however it was finally confirmed that the legend was fictitious. In reality Louis XVI's son, Louis Charles, called the young prince by some, and King Louis XVII of France by royalist supporters following his father's death, had died of tuberculosis in prison. The fact of his death was established using DNA evidence. The heart of the young man claimed by the royalists to be the young Louis XVII had been secretly removed by a doctor just after his death. By comparing the DNA from the heart with DNA taken from strands of hair of Marie Antoinette that had been kept as a memento by royalists, it was possible to establish that the boy who died in prison was indeed the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; the above mentioned heir to the crown of Louis XVI.
The formal funeral for Louis XVII finally took place at the Basilica of St Denis, albeit with his heart, not his body, in 2004. For the first time in over a century a royal ceremony took place in France, complete with the fleur-de-lis standard and a royal crown.
Read more about this topic: French Crown Jewels
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