Assassination Attempt
On 5 January 1757, would-be assassin Robert-Francois Damiens entered the Palace of Versailles, as did thousands of people every day to petition the king. At 6 pm, as night had fallen on a cold Versailles covered in snow, the king, who was visiting his daughter, left her apartments to return to the Trianon where he was staying. As he was walking in the Marble Courtyard between two lines of guards lighting the way with torches, headed toward his carriage which was waiting at the edge of the Marble Courtyard, Damiens emerged from the dark, passed through the guards, and stabbed the king in the side with a penknife.
The 8.1 cm (3.2 inch) blade entered the king's body between the fourth and fifth ribs. The king, who was bleeding, remained calm and called for a confessor as he thought he would die. Thoughts of poison came to his mind. At the sight of the queen, who had come in a hurry, he asked for forgiveness for his misbehaviour. However, the king survived. He was probably saved by the thick layers of clothes he wore on that cold day, which cushioned the blade, protecting the internal organs. Allegedly, the blade penetrated only 1 cm (0.4 inch) into the king's body, leading Voltaire to mock what he called a "pinprick".
Tried by the Parlement of Paris, Damiens was executed on the Place de Grève on 28 March 1757.
Read more about this topic: Louis XV Of France
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