Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Flight to Montmédy

Vive la Reine on some common misconceptions.
Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and the royal family were fleeing to the town of Varennes
The intended destination of the royal family was actually the royalist fortress of Montmedy.
Louis XVI intended to flee France
Louis XVI firmly refused to leave the country and, according to biographers such as Fraser, Webster, Hardman and more, turned down several flight routes to Montmedy which would have been much faster and safer because they briefly took him across the French border.
The coach which carried the royal family was recognized because it bore their royal arms/was too extravagant
The coach, presumably ordered by Axel Fersen, was large but not unusually so and was in fact based upon previously drafted plans for a Parisian’ companies carriage. It was not decorated with the arms of the royal family and, on the outside, was nothing out of the ordinary. The coach featured a variety of traveling amenities often used by those who could afford them - including a larder, cooker, fold-up table and chamber pots - because it was necessary for the flight to eliminate the need for its passengers to stop or leave the carriage. (Read entire post.)

More HERE.

The Royal Family returns to Paris after being captured at Varennes
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