Marie Antoinette

Guide Note:

Marie Antoinette was the fifteenth child of Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. She became Queen of France when her husband, Louis-Auguste, was crowned Louis XVI in 1774. She was famously executed by guillotine during the French Revolution for the crime of treason.

Marie Antoinette has been the subject of much speculation and interest since her death, particularly her (fictional) admonition to the starving masses in Paris: "Let them eat cake."

Fast Facts:

1. Born November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria
2. Married at 14
3. Birth name: Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen
4. Marriage to Louis XVI was not consummated for 7 years
5. Had 4 children
6. Body thrown in a mass grave
7. 20 years later, her body was exhumed and buried in the crypt of St. Denis Basilica

The youngest daughter in such a large family, Antoine (as she was then called) was often overlooked during her childhood in favor of her older siblings. (It is said that she could barely read or write her native German until age 12).

After her father's death in 1765, Antoine's brother became Austria's Emperor Joseph II. The family, soon after, was routed by an outbreak of smallpox. This left the 12-year-old Antoine as the most eligible of the family's daughters. On April 19, 1770, she was married by proxy to then Louis-Auguste of France, her second cousin. She was handed over officially to the French in on May 7 of that year.

Now renamed Marie Antoinette, she made her first appearance in Paris on June 8, 1773 to a crowd of 50,000. Her extravagant spending as dauphine became a minor scandal in the Court around this time.

Marie Antoinette's husband was crowned Louis XVI of France on June 11, 1775. Fears about Austrian influence in French politics kept her from participating in any significant way in any kind of official or genuine decision-making.

Marie Antoinette's daughter Marie Thérèse Charlotte was born on December 19, 1778. There were questions at the time about the paternity of the child, but Louis XVI never contested that the daughter was his own. Her second child, a son and the new heir to the French throne, was born on October 22, 1781.

As the political situation in France grew increasingly violent and chaotic, Marie Antoinette did her best to remain out of the public eye. She attempted to escape France in June 21, 1791, with her children, but was unsuccessful. On September 21 of that year, the French monarchy was officially dissolved.

Marie Antoinette entered a deep depression after her husband was executed on January 21, 1793, and never again attempted to escape her fate. She was put on trial on October 14 and charged with a variety of crimes, including the sexual abuse of her son. She was executed two days later.