Was king louis the 16th gay

The reign of Louis XVIthe final Bourbon king of France, was a varied and eventful one, but when we think of him and his queen Marie Antoinettecertain associations inevitably pop into our minds. Yet, this tidbit of misinformation has defined her for generations.

History is made by people — people who have likes and dislikes, who love and hate, who possess virtues as well as flaws. Kings and queens, living on a large stage, experience more spectacular successes and more dramatic failures than most of us, but ultimately they are just people.

Today, on the anniversary of King Louis XVI's execution inwe spotlight some facts about him and his wife Marie Antoinette that may help to add a human dimension to our understanding of these often maligned historical figures. In the days of the European monarchies, marriage was less a matter of personal inclination than political expediency.

Governments interested in forming alliances with other countries would as a matter of course attempt to unite their leaders with the offspring of other royalty. Louis-Auguste was not a promising specimen. This brother died young, however, and Louis-Auguste the loner was thrust into a public role as the heir apparent to the throne.

Unlike Louis-Auguste, who had a rather austere upbringing, she was a very social child with a close family and many friends. She liked playing music and dancing and was reportedly very talented at both. Her mother Maria Theresa, acting as queen after the death of the emperor, planned to unite Austria with its former enemy France through marriage.

Most likely, Antonia would not have been selected to fulfill this duty, but her older, eligible sisters had died from an outbreak of smallpox.

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Not yet 12 years old, she was promised to the future king of France. Marriages often took place by proxy in those days; Maria Antonia was married to Louis inwithout having met him her brother stood in. Inshe was finally sent to France for the formal marriage ceremony.

She was 14 at the time, Louis was On the big day, Louis donned a suit of silver, and Marie wore a lilac dress dripping with diamonds and pearls. There were was king louis the 16th gay 5, guests, and a crowd ofwatched the concluding fireworks display. Two occurrences of that day could be seen as bad omens for the marriage: a big storm, which threatened ominously during the ceremony, and a riot at the fireworks display that resulted in hundreds of people getting trampled.

Since they were more or less children at the time, we would not be surprised today that nothing much happened at first when Louis and Marie were thrust together. One of the key reasons for royal marriages, however, was to produce heirs, and this was expected to happen with some alacrity.

In the case of the royal couple, a long night stretched into seven years, a situation that not only personally distressed the members of the royal household, but which in time became a political liability. Several reasons have been proposed for the fact that the marriage went unconsummated for seven years.

Louis, self-conscious and insecure, may not have been very interested in sex, unlike his licentious grandfather, who lambasted him for his reluctance. Marie, who was interested in sex, became increasingly frustrated with this state of affairs. Some ill-advised policies advanced by Louis did nothing to contradict this point of view.

Unencumbered with learning how to be kingly at a young age, Louis found himself drawn to the solitary pursuits of lock making and carpentry. On the other hand, being king allowed Louis to explore his interests on an extravagant level, given that the palace at Versailles was his playground.

Once, Louis attempted to use his talents to reach out to his wife. He crafted her a spinning wheel, a considerate present for a clotheshorse like Marie Antoinette, who averaged over new dresses per year. The story goes that Marie thanked him courteously and then gave it away to one of her attendants.