Louis XVI in a film. The king's day was divided between commitments and passions
How Louis XVI spent his day ?
Among a thousand commitments of course, but without neglecting their passions, which were many.
First of all, forget the type of despot and authoritarian monarch always ready to command right and left strong of the enormous power granted him, because the character of Louis XVI was quite different:reserved, modest and jovial, the last king of France before the Revolution, despite the rank and the role, always remained the typical good guy with simple tastes ready to deal with everyone and careful not to show himself neither haughty nor superior because of the position held.
The sovereign got up every morning at eight and, as per the etiquette, underwent the solemn moment of "grand lever" ; Loyal to duty and respectful of the rules, Louis XVI, however, could not stand, and how to blame him !, the excessive rigidity of the rules in force, which he tried to lighten as much as possible by behaving spontaneously and informally, so much so that it was not at all rare to see him and hear him joking and laughing out loud with his room valets.
After a abundant breakfast made with ribs, eggs, ham and champagne (his appetite remained proverbial https://www.pilloledistoria.it/3848/storia-moderna/formidabile-appetito-luigi-xvi), the young man went to his workshop, about which it is right to be precise:he was not, as some adverse and false historiography has tried to make believe, a simple blacksmith with the sole ambition of forging locks and padlocks, but an expert in the field, that is a rigorous and assiduous student of mechanics and applied sciences, also endowed with excellent manual dexterity.
Portrait of Louis XVI
Not only that:Louis XVI spent hours and hours applying himself to books and manuals of geography (https://www.pilloledistoria.it/3907/storia-moderna/luigi-xvi-passione-per-geografia), physics and watchmaking, as well as reading classical literature texts and of history, a love for culture that convinced him, once he became king, to replace the old games room that his grandfather loved Louis XV, in a well-stocked library.
Then there were other mandatory tasks, or grant hearings, study the situation in the country with ministers and collaborators and chair, at least three times a week, at Council meetings, while attending the celebration of mass every morning, it always represented for the very Catholic Luigi more a pleasure than a duty.
If it is true that hunting was another of the hobbies essentials of the sovereign, the same cannot be said for the dance and gala evenings, from which he tried to escape as soon as possible to go to bed no later than ten.
In short, all in all, a simple daily life, in which the only real luxury allowed was food .