Louis Joseph Xavier François (22 October 1781 – 4 June 1789) was Dauphin of France as the second child and first son of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. As son of a King of France, he was a fils de France ("Child of France"). Louis Joseph died aged seven from tuberculosis and was succeeded as Dauphin (and thus heir-apparent) by his four-year-old younger brother Louis Charles.
His private household was created upon his birth. He was under the care of Victoire de Rohan, the Governess of the Children of France, until she was replaced in 1782 by Yolande de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, one of his mother's favourites. His sous-gouverneur was the Maréchal de campAntoine Charles Augustin d'Allonville. His wet nurse was Geneviève Poitrine, who was later accused of transmitting tuberculosis to the young Dauphin.
Louis Joseph was very close to his older sister and parents, who paid great attention to his studies. He was often praised as a very smart child for his age; however, it was quickly noticed that his health was very weak.
Illness
Dauphin Louis Joseph, thought to be by Jean-Baptiste André Dagoty, was probably made during the time he was sick, as his leg health was not very good.
Around April 1784, when he was three years old, Louis Joseph had a series of high fevers. Out of fear for his health, he was transported to the Château de Meudon where the air was reputed to have healing properties. The time spent at La Muette seemed to have helped Louis Joseph recover, and almost a year later, in March 1785, he returned there and was inoculated against smallpox. However, his health remained fragile.
In 1786, the fevers returned, but his household regarded them as being of no importance. These fevers, however, were the first signs of tuberculosis. In the same year, Louis Joseph's education was turned over to men, as was customary for the sons of the kings of France. At the ceremony, it was noted that Louis Joseph had trouble walking, which was in fact caused by a curvature of the spine – something which was treated through the use of metal corsets. By January 1788 the fevers grew more frequent and the disease progressed quickly.
Louis Joseph died at 1:00 a.m. at Château de Meudon on June 4 1789[2], at the age of seven and a half, during the Estates General, 40 days before the storming of the Bastille. [3]He was the last prince to live in the castle. For five years, Louis Joseph had been battling what appeared to be a form of smallpox. He far from his parents, who were not allowed to attend his final moments or his burial due to royal protocol. He was buried on 13 June in a simple ceremony at the Basilica of Saint Denis, a month before the storming of the Bastille. On 10 August 1793, on order of the National Convention during the Reign of Terror, his tomb was desecrated, together with those of the kings and queens of France, members of the royal family, high dignitaries, and abbots.
At the death of Louis Joseph, the title of Dauphin passed to his younger brother Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy, who died during the French Revolution, at the Temple prison in Paris.
