PHILIPPE CHARLIER

We will try to spot the real from the fake whether it concerns the many death masks of Napoleon I or the more or less far-fetched assumptions relating to the circumstances of his death. In short: archeology and forensic medicine to reconstruct the real Napoleon at the end of his life.

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The themes -

Quai Henri IV

We will discuss the assassination of Henri IV (How did the king die? Was his death preventable?), His embalming, his exhumation in 1793 at the Saint-Denis basilica (In what context and how is it practiced?), the vicissitudes of his head (How does it pass from hand to hand from the French Revolution to the present day?) and its identification (which procedure, which controversy and which certainty?)

Notre Dame of Paris

Starting from the viscera of Louis XIII and Louis XIV (why are they separated from the rest of the body? What has become of them?), We will comment on the embalming of the king's body, the partition of the corpse, the offering of hearts and body fragments to thank post-mortem those who have worked well for the kingdom. We will discuss the mandible of Saint-Louis (How did it get there? How was it identified?)

The Sainte-Chapelle

The heart of Saint Louis. We will talk about the dispersed king, scattered like a puzzle from Tunis to Paris via Rome - What did he die of? Why this scattering? What has the scientific study of this heart found in the 19th century evidenced? Is it really the one of the king, by the way?

Pont de L'Alma

About these Napoleonic victories, we will discuss some hypotheses on the causes of the death of Napoleon III and then of Napoleon I, his state of health, his hand in the waistcoat, his autopsy, his exile, toxicological studies, the excavations at Sainte-Helene, etc.

The Louvre

The archaeological excavations of the Grand Louvre (1985-1989) allowed one to immerse oneself in the daily life of a royal palace. After countless studies and the incredible amount of material collected, can we determine the state of health of the kings and queens of France? (What does one die of between the 14th and the 19th century? How to protect oneself against disease?)

Presentation - ​

Philippe Charlier is a doctor of medicine (forensic medicine), a doctor of letters (archaeo-anthropology) and a doctor of science (ethics).

Using the skills of forensic medicine for archeology and history, he studied the remains of many historical figures: Saint-Louis, Richard the Lionheart , Agnès Sorel, Diane de Poitiers, Henri IV, Robespierre, Mirabeau, Hitler,etc. Columnist of the show Sous les jupons de l’histoire alongside Christine Bravo, he currently co-presents the Magazine de la Santé on France 5.

He has also presented a series of anthropological documentaries for Arte entitled Enquête Outre, and co-wrote several documentaries for the series L’Histoire au scalpel still on France 5. Laureate of the Académie Française, he is the author of around thirty books for the general public (Fayard, Tallandier, Belin, etc.).

Since 2018, he has been the Director of the Research and Education Department at the Museum of quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

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