This article examines debates related to the care and education of Louis-Charles, dauphin and heir to the French throne, in 1790 and 1791. It argues that these debates offer us valuable insight into revolutionary political culture during that period, especially regarding two important points. The first is the tension between traditional notions of kingship and sovereignty, on the one hand, and the rise of constitutionalism, on the other. This tension is explored as a point on which two genres of writing about the education of princes came into conflict during the early years of the Revolution. The second is the relationship between the monarchy and the monarch, and the degree to which they could be conceptually separated from one another as interactions between Louis XVI and the National Assembly became increasingly tense, especially after the Flight to Varennes in June 1791.