When the Bastille was stormed by an armed mob on 14 July 1789, the situation reached a climax. The life of the 10-year-old "Madame Royale" began to be affected as several members of the royal household were sent abroad for their own safety. The comte d'Artois, her uncle, and the "duchesse de Polignac", governess to the royal children, emigrated on the orders of Louis XVI.