Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France
Louis Joseph Xavier François was Dauphin of France as the second child and first son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. As son of a king of France, he was a fils de France. Louis Joseph died aged seven from tuberculosis and was succeeded as Dauphin by his four-year-old brother Louis Charles.
Portrait by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller, 1784. (Nationalmuseum)
Bust of Louis-Joseph by Louis-Pierre Deseine (Musée de la Révolution française, Vizille, Isère)
Queen Marie Antoinette with her children, 1787 at Versailles; (L-R); Marie Thérèse Charlotte, known as Madame Royale at court; the Queen with the Duke of Normandy on her lap; the Dauphin is on the right pointing into an empty cradle; the cradle used to show Madame Sophie; she died later in the year and had to be painted out; by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun; the Fleur-de-lis of France and the Bourbons can be seen behind on the cabinet
Dauphin of France, originally Dauphin of Viennois, was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word dauphin is French for dolphin and was the hereditary title of the ruler of the Dauphiné of Viennois. While early heirs were granted these lands to rule, eventually only the title was granted.
Image: Charles V France
Image: Young Charles VI of France
Image: Charles, 6th Dauphin
Image: Louis de Guyenne, dauphin of France