Joseph's grasp of history wasn't great, but even he knew Aunt Sophie was being too optimistic. There was still a lot to come.
On the 19th, the Constituent Assembly also left Versailles and returned to Paris.
As soon as the Constituent Assembly returned to Paris, Mirabeau, one of its members, put forward a proposal: "Let the king abdicate and pass the throne to the dauphin. Since the dauphin is still young, according to French tradition, a great noble of high standing could serve as regent and handle state affairs on his behalf."
Everyone knew which great noble of high standing Mirabeau had in mind. The king's two brothers had both fled abroad, and given their attitude toward the Revolution, they naturally couldn't take the position. That left only one candidate: the Duke of Orleans.
The proposal won the support of many members, because the Assembly simply didn't believe that a king forced to return to Paris would sincerely support constitutional government. They felt that keeping such a man on the throne would introduce all kinds of uncertainty into the constitutional order.
For a time, Louis XVI's throne was in grave danger. People could even be heard shouting "Long live Louis XVII!" in the streets.
The Duke of Orleans had supposedly been waiting for this day for a long time, but then things suddenly changed. He abruptly accepted Marquis Lafayette's suggestion that he leave France for London and serve as ambassador to Britain.
By all ordinary reasoning, the Duke of Orleans could never have left France at such a time, since it was practically a form of exile. But it was said that after a secret meeting with Lafayette, the duke had accepted the demand. Rumors then began to spread that he had agreed because he'd been involved in some shady