When Louis XIV died in 1715, doctors believed they understood exactly what claimed the life of Europe’s longest-reigning monarch. But centuries later, a surprising discovery inside the king’s mummified heart is rewriting the story of his final days.
The King of France died on September 1, just four days shy of his 77th birthday. His rule from 1643 to 1715 made him the longest-reigning monarch in European history — surpassing even Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year tenure by two years.
Although official records listed gangrene as the cause, new research suggests something else may have been behind his decline. Gangrene is the “death of body tissue due to a lack of blood flow or a serious bacterial infection,” according to the Mayo Clinic. It can progress quickly and was often fatal before modern medicine.
Scientists examined his mummified heart, an artifact preserved for centuries, and found evidence pointing to a very different diagnosis, according to reporting from The Times (U.K.) and Le Parisien.
Researchers now believe the king’s fatal illness may have begun with a chronic skin disease called chromoblastomycosis — a fungal infection that spreads slowly under the skin, per the World Health Organization.
According to reports, the king was in severe pain during the two weeks leading up to his death. This infection was unknown to physicians at the time, which could explain why his symptoms were misunderstood.
The team reached their conclusion after examining a fragment of Louis XIV’s preserved heart, which is housed in the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. Instead of detecting the bacterial clues consistent with gangrene, they found fungal material.
The research was led by pathologist Philippe Charlier, whose background includes forensic work on notable historical remains. He and his team were allowed to study the heart with approval from Louis XIV’s descendants, Jean d’Orléans and Louis-Alphonse de Bourbon, the outlets reported.
“By analysing the blood residues that were still present around the heart, we realised that it wasn’t bacteria at all, but rather fungi,” Charlier told The Times and noted that the fungal infection may have developed into septicemia, or blood poisoning.
“The exact medical cause of his death is an additional element to understand the last moments of the sovereign, to be able to imagine whether he suffered or was able to pass away peacefully,” said de Bourbon, the Duke of Anjou.
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