Not a great king, Louis XVI was also not an awful person. Like the equally unprepared Nicholas II, he became a very sympathetic character when viewed as a family man. Also like Nicholas, he and his family (particularly the totally innocent boy) paid a truly horrific price for whatever he might have done wrong. So it is hard not to be feel pity and sadness for his tragedy centuries later, even though he may not have been terribly adept at his job.