The French Revolution’s Reign of Terror claimed the lives of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, but the fate of their son, Louis-Charles, became one of history’s most enduring mysteries. Known to royalists as Louis XVII, the young heir was imprisoned after his parents’ execution. His reported death in 1795 was met with skepticism, fueling tales of his escape. For two centuries, these rumors gave rise to numerous individuals claiming to be the lost dauphin, creating a seemingly unresolvable debate. At the center of this puzzle lay a small, preserved heart, an artifact believed to be the only physical evidence of the boy who died in the Temple Tower.
The Dauphin’s Fate and the Preserved Heart
Following the execution of his father, Louis-Charles was separated from his mother and confined within Paris’s Temple Tower. The conditions of his imprisonment were severe, and his health rapidly declined under the neglectful watch of his revolutionary guards. He suffered from abuse and isolation, which exacerbated his illness. By 1795, the ten-year-old boy was gravely ill with what was diagnosed as tuberculosis.
His death on June 8, 1795, was officially recorded. The physician tasked with performing the autopsy, Dr. Philippe-Jean Pelletan, was moved by the boy’s tragic end. During the procedure, he secretly removed the heart, seeing it as a sacred royal relic.
Dr. Pelletan carefully placed the small organ into a jar of alcohol to preserve it. He then concealed the jar, hoping to one day return it to the rightful royal family. This act ensured that a piece of the boy who died in the prison would survive, setting the stage for a centuries-long journey to uncover its identity.
The Heart’s Journey Through History
The heart’s existence after its removal from the Temple Tower was precarious and marked by a series of transfers across Europe. Shortly after Dr. Pelletan preserved it, the jar was stolen by one of his students. The student later confessed on his deathbed, and his widow returned the now-empty jar to Pelletan, who had to carefully place the mummified heart back inside. The organ remained in the physician’s family for years.
Its journey became more public after Pelletan’s death, when it was presented to the Archbishop of Paris. The heart was then caught in the turmoil of the 1830 revolution, during which the archbishop’s residence was looted. A rioter reportedly seized the heart, though it was later recovered. Seeking a safer haven, the heart was offered to the Spanish branch of the Bourbon family, finding a temporary home near Trieste.
For decades, the artifact remained outside of France, passing between different royal descendants with a complex chain of custody. It was not until the 20th century that the heart was finally returned to the descendants of the French royal family. This long voyage ensured the relic’s survival, making it available for the scientific scrutiny that would ultimately solve the mystery.
Scientific Resolution Through DNA
By the close of the 20th century, advancements in genetic science offered a new path to solving the 200-year-old riddle. In 2000, a decision was made to perform DNA analysis on the preserved heart. To ensure the credibility of the findings, two independent European laboratories were chosen for the task: one led by Professor Jean-Jacques Cassiman at the University of Leuven in Belgium, and the other by Professor Ernst Brinkmann at Germany’s University of Münster. The challenge was significant due to the age and condition of the tissue.
Scientists focused on extracting mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a type of genetic material passed down directly from mother to child with very few changes over generations. The team secured authenticated DNA samples from living and deceased members of the Habsburg royal line, Marie Antoinette’s family.
The analysis included DNA extracted from a lock of hair that had been taken from Marie Antoinette as a child. Researchers also used samples from her two deceased sisters and from living relatives like Queen Anne of Romania. The mtDNA sequence obtained from the heart tissue was meticulously compared against these maternal reference samples.
The Final Verdict and Royal Burial
The results from both laboratories were conclusive and perfectly matched. The mitochondrial DNA sequence from the heart was identical to the mtDNA of Marie Antoinette and her relatives. The findings effectively ended the long-standing historical debate and debunked the claims of the dozens of pretenders who had emerged over the centuries.
With its identity verified, the heart was no longer just a curious relic but the authenticated remains of a French king. On June 8, 2004, exactly 209 years after his death, the heart of Louis XVII was given a formal royal burial. It was interred in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the ancient necropolis for French monarchs, finally joining the remains of his parents, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.