Hüe served Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette as first valet de chambre, and did not leave them, even in the tower of the Temple, when almost the whole court had fled. A formula unique in the entire cemetery calls him “honoured with the last breaths” of the king. Dead in January 1819, he waited two days to be laid in the ground: the family had chosen the anniversary of the king's execution.
The story
François Hüe died on 19 January 1819. His family waited two days to bury him, and the inscription explains why: 21 January is a “jour expiatoire”, a day of expiation — the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI. The date of burial is an act of loyalty.
Born in 1757 at Fontainebleau, he was first valet de chambre to the dauphin, the child who should have reigned as Louis XVII, and he followed the royal family as far as the prison of the Temple when almost every servant of the court had fled. His epitaph calls him “honoré des derniers soupirs de Louis XVI” — honoured by the last breath of Louis XVI, a phrase found nowhere else in the cemetery.
In 1806 he published Dernières années du règne et de la vie de Louis XVI, on the last years of the reign and the life of Louis XVI: the direct testimony of a man who watched the French monarchy end in a tower, day after day.
His son André Marie, baron Hüe, valet de chambre to Louis XVIII and then to Charles X, appears on the same stone. Two generations in the service of one dynasty, down to the choice of a burial date.
The grave
An inscription that makes the burial date an act of loyalty: “A François HUE, honoré des derniers soupirs de Louis XVI, sa veuve et son fils, ont élevé ce monument, faible témoignage, de leur douleur, décédé le XIX, enterré le XXI, jour expiatoire, de janvier, MDCCCXIX.” — To François Hüe, honoured with the last breaths of Louis XVI, his widow and his son raised this monument, a feeble token of their grief; died on the 19th, buried on the 21st, day of expiation, of January 1819. The 21st of January is the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI: the family waited two days to bury him on that day. The tomb also holds his son, André Marie, Baron Hüe, valet de chambre to Louis XVIII and then to Charles X — two generations in the service of the same dynasty.
On site, do not miss
The epitaph calls him “honoré des derniers soupirs de Louis XVI” — honoured with the last breaths of Louis XVI — and gives the burial date: “enterré le XXI, jour expiatoire, de janvier”, buried on the 21st, day of expiation, of January — the anniversary of the king's execution.
Visitors' questions
Where is François Hüe's grave?
In Division 39, chemin Camille-Jordan, eighth row. The epitaph, raised by his widow and his son, calls him “honoré des derniers soupirs de Louis XVI” — honoured with the last breath of Louis XVI — a phrase unique in the cemetery; he was first valet de chambre to the king.
CambacérèsWhat does his epitaph say?
“A François HUE, honoré des derniers soupirs de Louis XVI, sa veuve et son fils, ont élevé ce monument, faible témoignage, de leur douleur, décédé le XIX, enterré le XXI, jour expiatoire, de janvier, MDCCCXIX.” — died on the 19th, buried on the 21st, the day of expiation, in January 1819. The 21st of January is the date of the king's execution.
Louis de ChampcenetzDid he follow the king to the Temple?
He did — and that is what his memory rests on: first valet de chambre to Louis XVI and to Marie-Antoinette, he stayed at their side as far as the prison of the Temple, when almost every servant of the court had fled.
Raymond de SèzeDid he write his memoirs?
He did: Dernières années du règne et de la vie de Louis XVI — the last years of the reign and life of Louis XVI — published in 1806, the direct testimony of a man who watched the French monarchy end in a tower, day after day. He was buried on a 21 January, the “day of expiation”.
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