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The memorandum sent to King Louis XVI signed by the princes of blood is of interest as a primary source regarding the events leading to the collapse of the ancien régime. As a private source it may be unreliable and biased, especially as it was written by characters who were to be affected by the fall of the ancien régime. It is however valuable, as it is a source contemporary with the period. The princes were the kings blood brothers and as such, were unlikely to extend beyond exaggeration into falsification. The princes of blood set to lose a great deal if the balance of wealth shifted which may lend bias to the situation described by them in order to favour their stance: there are exaggerated words within the letter such as “mania”, “peril” and “barbarous”. On the other hand, it can be deduced that some truth exists in the memorandum as the social situation at the time forced the princes to correspond with the King. The extract itself is a translation and inaccuracies may occur in the translated text, however, the translated textbook is in its second edition suggesting an adequate degree of accuracy. While the text is relevant, it is not a ‘document of record’; it doesn’t simply by its existence prove the collapse of the ancien régime.

The content of the message itself requires some initial analysis in order to fully understand its meaning. There are a number of technical terms specific to the politics of the era, specifically those referring to the “two orders of state”, the “third estate” and the “Estates-General”. The Estates-General was a legislative assembly of the different classes (or estates) of French subjects. The first estate (or order) was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility, royalty (excluding the king himself) and the wealthy. The third estates were the commoners: those that did not qualify for either of the other two orders. There are also phrases echoing the psychology of the time, adding to the reliability of...