A man who tried to assassinate a Royal was subjected to brutal torture with red-hot pincers, torn apart by horses and burned at the stake in a prolonged, horrific execution.

Born in 1715 in a village in northern France, Robert-Francois Damiens drifted through various low-level jobs and was repeatedly dismissed for misconduct. He worked in the households of judges and officials, where he became convinced of the immorality of Royal ministers.

Throughout his life, he believed that the King and his clergy had denied the sacraments to “good people who pray in churches every day” and that the monarch needed to be forced to restore justice. On 5 January 1757, he executed his ill-conceived plan by gaining access to the king’s carriage during a journey from the Palace of Versailles.

As Louis XV prepared to board his carriage, Damiens rushed past the Swiss Guards, using the crowded setting to his advantage.

He stabbed the king with a small penknife, inflicting only a superficial wound thanks to the King’s heavy garments. He made no attempt to flee the scene and was arrested on the spot, reports <a href=”https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/haunting-last-words-prisoner-covered-36232978″ rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Mirror</a>.

Condemned as a regicide, Damiens was sentenced to be drawn and quartered by horses at the Place de Greve in Paris in front of the masses. His punishment would serve as a horrific warning to anyone who dared oppose the royals.

Before the dismemberment began, Damiens underwent days of intense torture – forced to wear boots that crushed his legs, red-hot pincers, burning sulphur, molten lead, wax and boiling oil poured into his wounds.

On the day of his execution, the horses failed to tear apart his limbs as anticipated – and historical records indicate his tendons required cutting so the horses could finally dismember him. Some accounts suggest he remained conscious when his final arm was detached.

Following Damiens’s dismemberment, his torso was burned at the stake to cheers from onlookers. His final words were said to be: “O death, why art thou so long in coming?”.

The consequences for his family members were harsh and swift. The property where he was born was demolished, and no new structure was permitted to be erected on that location.

His father, wife, and daughter were exiled from France permanently, and were forbidden from returning under threat of execution. Meanwhile, his brothers and sisters were commanded to alter their surname.

Many were compelled to adopt new identities to avoid the shame associated with their connection to Damiens.

For generations, Damiens has remained a representation of the savagery of the ancien régime’s judicial system – an execution so horrific few could accept it until they witnessed the illustrations, etchings and documentation.