Marie Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette, whose full name was Marie-Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne of Habsburg-Lorraine, was born in Vienna on November 2, 1755. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, and her husband Francis I Stephen, Holy Roman Emperor. She spent her childhood between Vienna’s Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace, surrounded by her many siblings. She was especially close to her sister Maria Carolina, three years her senior, who later became queen of Naples and Sicily. Marie-Antoinette’s education focused mainly on court etiquette, dancing, music, and social manners. She received little substantial political education. At the age of ten, she still had difficulty reading and writing in German and spoke French and Italian only imperfectly. She was considered lively, absent-minded, and fond of teasing. One notable event of her childhood was her meeting with the young musical prodigy Mozart at Schönbrunn in 1762. Maria Theresa used her children’s marriages to strengthen political alliances. After centuries of hostility, Austria and France sought to draw their ruling houses closer through marriage. Marie-Antoinette was therefore promised to the French heir, Louis-Auguste, the future Louis XVI. She learned French, was prepared for her new role, and formally renounced her rights to the Habsburg hereditary lands in April 1770. On April 19, she married the dauphin by proxy in Vienna; on May 16, the marriage was celebrated in person at Versailles. Marie-Antoinette was only fourteen years old. Her transition to France was marked by a symbolic ceremony on the Rhine. On a specially constructed island, she had to leave behind her Austrian clothes and all belongings from her homeland before entering French territory. She was initially received enthusiastically in France, but at court she encountered suspicion. Her origins earned her the disparaging nickname “the Austrian.” The strict etiquette of Versailles, the lack of privacy, and the intrigues of court life weighed heavily on her. Moreover, her marriage to Louis XVI was not consummated for several years, provoking rumors and raising concerns about the future of the dynasty. After Louis XV died on May 10, 1774, Marie-Antoinette became queen of France and Navarre at the age of eighteen. Her continuing childlessness, her fondness for elegant clothing, balls, theater, gambling, and expensive celebrations soon made her the target of an aggressive public campaign. Pamphlets accused her of sexual affairs and extravagance, while alleged relationships with her brother-in-law and the Swedish count Axel von Fersen were also circulated. The queen did in fact maintain a close circle of friends, including the Princess of Lamballe and the Countess of Polignac, but many accusations against her were deliberately fabricated or greatly exaggerated. In 1778, after eight years of marriage, she gave birth to her first daughter, Marie-Thérèse. Three more children followed: Louis-Joseph, who died in 1789; Louis-Charles, later known as Louis XVII; and Sophie, who died in infancy. She also suffered two miscarriages. After losing some of her children, Marie-Antoinette made greater efforts to present herself as a devoted mother. The queen disliked the constraints of court life and sought refuge in a more personal and informal environment. Louis XVI gave her the Petit Trianon, where she spent time with selected friends, performed in theatrical productions, and established the Hameau de la Reine, an artificial village with a farm. She loved music, played the harp and flute, sang, and supported composers such as Christoph Willibald Gluck, Piccinni, Sacchini, and Grétry. Although her spending on clothing, festivities, and renovations was limited in proportion to the overall state budget, it became a symbol of aristocratic extravagance at a time of growing social and financial tensions. The Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785 was particularly damaging to her reputation. Swindlers deceived Cardinal de Rohan by pretending to act in the queen’s name to purchase an expensive diamond necklace. Marie-Antoinette knew nothing about the negotiations, but the public nevertheless associated her with the scandal. She acquired the nickname “Madame Deficit,” and hostility toward her intensified. With the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, her situation became increasingly precarious. After the death of her eldest son and amid political turmoil, she continued to support the authority of the monarchy and favored a counter-revolutionary response. In October 1789, the women’s march on Versailles forced the royal family to move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The remark often associated with Marie-Antoinette—that the people should eat brioche instead of bread—was not hers. The royal family was now placed under guard. In June 1791, an attempted escape to Varennes failed. The episode destroyed much of the remaining confidence in the monarchy. Marie-Antoinette maintained secret contacts with moderate revolutionaries, but at the same time hoped for assistance from foreign monarchies and the restoration of royal power. When France declared war on Austria in 1792 and suffered military defeats, she was denounced as a traitor and called “Madame Veto.” On August 10, revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries. The royal family was first taken to safety and then imprisoned in the Temple prison. After the monarchy was abolished and Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793, Marie-Antoinette was transferred to the Conciergerie in August. Her trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal began on October 14. She was accused of high treason, cooperation with foreign powers, and participation in a conspiracy against the republic. The proceedings were conducted under great time pressure, and her lawyers had little opportunity to examine the case. Particularly shocking was the attempt to discredit her with an incest accusation involving her son. Marie-Antoinette rejected the charge by passionately appealing to the feelings of all mothers present. The court found her guilty on all counts and imposed the death penalty. In her final message, addressed to her sister-in-law Élisabeth, she asked God for forgiveness, affirmed her commitment to the Catholic faith, and expressed above all her concern for her children. She forgave her enemies and urged her son never to avenge the deaths of his parents. On October 16, 1793, Marie-Antoinette was guillotined at the age of thirty-seven on the Place de la Révolution in Paris. She was initially buried in a mass grave; in 1815, her remains were transferred, together with those of Louis XVI, to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Her image changed repeatedly after her death. To royalists, she became a martyr; to republicans, she long represented frivolity and political failure. She remains one of the best-known and most controversial figures in French history, remembered as the glamorous and tragic last queen of the Ancien Régime.