Editor says, what if the Bourbons had made it to safety? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the March 2011 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.

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Editor says, in authoring this article we explore an idea from guest historian Jackie Speel.
Wikipedia reports ~ The escape was largely planned by Count Axel von Fersen and the Baron de Breteuil. Due to the cumulative effect of a host of errors which in and of themselves would not have condemned the mission to failure, the royal family was thwarted in its escape when the king was recognized in the town of Sainte-Menehould, by a postmaster named Jean-Baptiste Drouet. The king and his family were eventually arrested in the revolutionary town of Varennes, 30 miles (50 km) from their ultimate destination, the heavily fortified royalist citadel of Montmedy. One rumor suggests that the king was recognized because his face appeared on French assignats, though this story's validity is contested.

H. Torrance Griffin commented on 2012-02-20 17:17:00 ~ Much like Nick Romanov a century and change later, I seriously doubt a living Louis XVI would have been as useful to the Revolution's opponents as he matyrdom was.

Eric Oppen commented on 2012-02-20 17:40:18 ~ This could have been pulled off. As I understand it, in OTL part of what screwed them was their huge coach, as well as stopping for lunch and the king being recognized. That said, I'd guess that growing up in the hothouse atmosphere of Versailles wouldn't exactly engender sound common sense. And Louis XVI growing a spine and pair of balls would have been a game-changer all by itself.

Jeff Provine commented on 2012-02-21 00:03:20 ~ Might just be early enough to keep the Revolution from turning into a French Civil War. If the Bourbons had tarried with their army of Royalists, the Republicans might've had enough dug in to hold onto at least part of France, giving Napoleon another fateful chance at clout.

Mark Taylor commented on 2012-02-25 15:14:17 ~ I refer readers to "If It Had Happened Otherwise" and the story "If Drouet's Cart Had Stuck." Short-term restoration was followed by longterm disaster for France and Britain alike.Napoleon appears as an obscure artillery Colonel,French military attache in London.