Swiss Guards

Created: 1616

A regiment of Swiss Guards had operated as part of the personal guard of the French monarch (alongside a regiment of French Guards) since the early seventeenth century. Unlike their French counterparts, who were disbanded after their participation in the storming of the Bastille, the Swiss Guards remained in the service of Louis XVI until he was deposed on 10 August 1792. Hundreds were killed while unsuccessfully defending the Tuileries palace from the Revolutionary crowd that day.

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Swiss_Guards

Appears in these Letters:

1789

9 May: The Opening of the Estates General

The Estates General was the national representative body called by Louis XVI to solve the state’s financial problems. It was set up with ornate...

1792

14 August: The August Revolution: The Fall of the Monarchy

The summer of 1792 was a perfect storm for the French monarchy, with rising demands for a Republic amid military defeats and the lasting resentment...

4 September: Revolutionary Massacre: Paris in September 1792

At the start of September 1792 Revolutionary tensions boiled over in the capital in the wake of the fall of the monarchy and news of...