Blood of Louis XVI Found on Cloth Confirmed With DNA
A team of researchers claimed they have identified blood to be that of King Louis XVI after a sample of blood was analyzed using DNA identification methods.
A new study in, "Forensic Science International" claimed to have identified dried blood on a cloth to be that of the King of France who was beheaded more than 200 years ago.
King Louis XVI was beheaded in 1793 after the conclusion of the French Revolution and historians say that witness of the event took pieces of garments and dipped them in the fallen king's blood.
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There has been a longstanding goal to identify an authentic piece form the period and with recent developments in DNA sequencing researchers believe that they have done just that.
Researchers needed a way to compare the blood sample and were able to recover a DNA sample from the mummified head of King Henri IV, who ruled France from 1589 until 1610 and was a direct ancestor to King Louis XVI.
Reports indicate that researchers were drawn to the artifact after news the cloth surfaced.
When King Louis the XVI was beheaded, a Parisian who went by the name Maximilien Bourdaloue is said to have witnessed the event and dipped a handkerchief in the blood left at the base if the guillotine. Bourdaloue then hid his item in a calabash, which is now in the possession of an Italian family, according to the BBC.
"Taking into consideration that the partial Y-chromosome profile is extremely rare in modern human databases, we concluded that both males could be paternally related," the study read. "Historically speaking, this forensic DNA data would confirm the identity of the previous Louis XVI sample."
While there are still doubts the co-author of the report, Carles Lalueza Fox, of the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva in Barcelona, was almost certain of the link between the two samples.
"250 times more likely that the [owners of the] head and the blood are paternally related, than unrelated," Fox explained in a statement.
