logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
8m 58s

The mystery of France's lost king

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The fate of Louis-Charles, son of the last king of France, was for years shrouded in rumour.

The little boy was said to have died in prison in 1795. But for years, rumours spread that he had been swapped with an imposter.

It wasn't until a team of scientists took DNA samples from the heart of the imprisoned boy in 2000 that the mystery could be laid to rest.

In 2021, Prof Jean Jacques Cassiman and historian Deborah Cadbury told Claire Bowes about the extraordinary tale.

(Photo: Drawing of Louis-Charles being separated from his mother Marie Antoinette in 1793. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Up next
Today
How BRICS got its name
In 2001, a few months after 9/11, economist Jim O’Neill was working at Goldman Sachs when he wrote a report about which countries might become big players in the world economy. That’s when he came up with the name BRIC - short for Brazil, Russia, India and China. At first, nothin ... Show More
9m 55s
Yesterday
Japan surrenders in Beijing
Eighty years ago, in the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire.The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese gen ... Show More
10m 12s
Oct 8
The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away
On 10 October 1961, a volcanic eruption threatened the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and all 264 islanders were evacuated to the UK. Two years later, the majority voted to return. In an interview she gave to the BBC in 1961, M ... Show More
10m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2018
Marie Antoinette
In a programme first broadcast in November 2018, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess Maria Antonia, child bride of the future French King Louis XVI. Their marriage was an attempt to bring about a major change in the balance of power in Europe and to undermine th ... Show More
49m 7s
Jan 2024
411. The Man in the Iron Mask
In the late 17th century, during the glorious reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, France was at its apogee, with royal absolutism at its zenith. But, beneath the gold and glamour of Louis’ reign, there lay a terrifying darkness: a prison system into which people could be disappeare ... Show More
50m 25s
Jul 2021
16. Louis XIV, un roi absolu à Versailles
Pendant 72 ans, de 1643 à 1715, Louis XIV est roi de France.   Ce règne, le plus long de l'histoire de France, reste associé à l’image d’un roi absolu et d’un lieu, le château de Versailles.     Revenons donc au Grand siècle pour comprendre comment Louis XIV incarne-t-il l’absolu ... Show More
15m 43s
Dec 2021
La belle histoire de France du 26/12/2021
La fin du premier empire est marqué par une lassitude du peuple français de la guerre et de son coût, tant humain qu'économique. Dans ce cadre, le retour d'une monarchie, sous une forme constitutionnelle, séduit de plus en plus. C'est le comte de provence, héritier des Bourbons, ... Show More
43m 14s
Feb 2023
The Murder of Charles I
It's 1660 and General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law board a ship bound for the New World. They're on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I. His execution, the culmination of the English Civil War, sees control taken from the royalists by Oliver Cromwell and his par ... Show More
30m 35s
May 2017
The Battle of Lincoln 1217
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Battle of Lincoln on 20th May 1217, when two armies fought to keep, or to win, the English crown. This was a struggle between the Angevin and Capetian dynasties, one that followed Capetian successes over the Angevins in France. The forces of th ... Show More
53m 10s
Jun 2023
Louis XIV: The Sun King
In 1661 the 23 year-old French king Louis the XIV had been on the throne for 18 years when his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, died. Louis is reported to have said to his ministers, “It is now time that I govern my affairs myself. You will assist me with your counsels when I as ... Show More
47m 25s
Jun 2023
Louis XIV: The Sun King
In 1661 the 23 year-old French king Louis the XIV had been on the throne for 18 years when his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, died. Louis is reported to have said to his ministers, “It is now time that I govern my affairs myself. You will assist me with your counsels when I as ... Show More
47m 25s
Mar 2023
Charles Bonaparte, père de Napoléon - Michel Vergé-Franceschi
Fidèle à Louis XV et à la France, membre de la noblesse corse et notable d'Ajaccio, Charles Bonaparte est surtout connu pour être le père de Napoléon. Son histoire est celle de la Corse au XVIIIe siècle, des rivalités de famille, des alliances avec la France et l'Angleterre. Port ... Show More
36m 25s