Two centuries after handkerchiefs were dipped in the blood of
the beheaded French king Louis XVI, scientists believe they have
proved one such rag kept as a revolutionary souvenir contains
his bloodstains. For years researchers have been trying to
verify the claim that an ornately decorated calabash contained a
blood sample of the king, who was guillotined in Paris on
January 21, 1793. On that day Parisian Maximilien Bourdaloue
joined the crowds as dipped a handkerchief into the blood left
at the scene of the decapitation. He is then believed to have
placed the fabric in the gourd, which has been in the hands of
an Italian family for more than a century, and had it
embellished. Two years ago, analysis of DNA taken from traces of
blood found inside the gourd revealed a likely match for someone
of Louis' description, including his blue eyes. But it was never
able to be proved beyond doubt as at the time the team did not
have DNA of any royal relation. But a team of experts from
France and Spain, which has publi