45- The DNA of Louis XVI

Almost no French king is more famous than Louis XVI, reigning during the turbulent times of the French Revolution at the tail-end of the eighteenth century. Previous studies have attempted to characterise his Y-chromosomal single tandem repeat (STR) profile, but were ultimately unsuccessful due to contradictions. So, today, let's explore a 2016 study which analysed a loyalist-owned lock of hair and compared it to three living male-line relatives.

Sources for this episode:

• Lucotte, G., Thomasset, T. and Wen, S. (2016), The DNA Y-STRs Profile of Louis XVI (1754-1793). International Journal of Sciences 5(4): 68-93.


• Popkin, J. D. and Goodwin, A., Encyclopaedia Britannica (2021), Louis XVI (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021].


• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Family tree of French monarchs (simplified) (online) [Accessed 15/08/2021].


• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Karl Wilhelm Naundorff (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021 and 06/09/2021].