Which royal person went to the Place de la Revolution on January 21, 1793, where he had his head removed by guillotine?

On a cold January morning in 1793, the former King of France, Louis XVI, met his end in the public square then known as the Place de la Révolution in Paris. His execution by guillotine was a pivotal and shocking moment in the French Revolution, symbolizing the definitive end of the absolute monarchy and the birth of the French Republic. Before the blade fell, he attempted to give a speech forgiving his executioners, but his voice was drowned out by a drumroll ordered by an officer.

The king’s downfall had been years in the making. Initially, revolutionaries had hoped for a constitutional monarchy, but Louis’s failed attempt to flee the country in 1791, known as the Flight to Varennes, shattered any remaining trust. Seen as a traitor who had conspired with foreign powers against his own people, he was put on trial by the National Convention. He was found guilty of high treason and, by a narrow majority vote, sentenced to death.

His execution marked the beginning of the most radical phase of the revolution, the Reign of Terror. His wife, Marie Antoinette, would follow him to the guillotine in the same square nine months later. Today, this historic location at the heart of Paris is known by a more peaceful name: the Place de la Concorde.