Early Life
Marie Antoinette was born the fifteenth of sixteen children in 1755 to the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine (Carroll, 255). In an attempt to ease the tensions between Austria and France Marie Antoinette’s mother negotiated a marriage agreement with Louis XV of France in 1766, Marie was not yet eleven years of age. To formalize their offer Louis XV required Marie Antoinette to undergo a substantial makeover. This included a reconfigured hairline, orthodontia, lessons in French, elocution, dance and the unique walk known to the ladies of the court known as the Versailles Glide (Carroll, 255). After Marie Antoinette, “…got her first period in February 1770, the two courts exhaled a collective sigh of relief. Now the little girl was ripe to become a bride” (Carroll, 255-256). On April 19, 1770 Marie Antoinette married Louis Auguste by proxy in Vienna. On May 16, 1770 they had their second wedding ceremony in the chapel at Versailles. Marie Antoinette was 14 years old, Louis Auguste 15 years old. While the wedding night was highly anticipated to be the night when an heir was to be conceived, however, the royal marriage would not be consummated for more than seven years (Carroll, 257).
A Life as Dauphine
Without children to occupy her time Marie Antoinette channeled her frustration by participating in all-night faro games, outrageous coiffures and masquerade balls (Carroll, 257). Failure to produce an heir subjected Marie Antoinette to much scrutiny. After Louis XV died in 1774, Louis Auguste succeeded him as king of France and became known as Louis XVI, he was 19 years old.
Entry into Motherhood
Marie Antoinette had four children by Louis XVI. While Marie Antoinette gave birth to four children she endured five pregnancies, she endured an unfortunate miscarriage in 1783 (Fraser, 202). Marie Therese (1778-1851), Dauphin Louis Joseph (1781-1789), Louis Charles (1785-1795) and Sophie Helene Beatrice (1786-1787) (Lever, Simplified Genealogy of the French Royal Family).
The Many Names of Marie Antoinette
The scrutiny of Marie Antoinette harshened when she became queen. She was an easy target and scapegoat. She was often labeled an Austrian bitch or whore, in regards to the many rumors that surrounded her sex life. She became known as Madame Veto along with Madame Deficit, for her extravagant expenditures and her neglect of peasantry issues. In an attempt to gain popularity she promoted her own form of propaganda that would label her Mother of the Children of France. Only after her death was she remembered in Canada and France as la reine martyre (the martyred queen).
In the End
The scandal that inevitably tarnished what was left of the Queen’s reputation was the Diamond Necklace Affair. “The accumulation of years of irresponsibility and frivolousness told against her… Because of this unfortunate affair, Marie Antoinette would be seen as a perfidious and debauched woman who squandered the coffers of the kingdom for her personal pleasure, and who took advantage of the King’s weakness, betraying him as a husband to satisfy her lustful instincts and as a sovereign to serve the interests of the Austrian Empire” (Lever, 182).
While it is true that Marie Antoinette basked in the never-ending extravagances allowed to her by being Queen, “For example, she had a model farm built on the palace grounds so that she and her ladies-in-waiting could dress in elaborate costumes and pretend to be milkmaids and shepherdesses (“Marie-Antoinette”). She was merely a scapegoat.
The American Revolution left France tremendously in debt, and Louis XVI’s decision in creating the Three Estates wasn’t any help in relieving the deficit. The Three Estates split the population of France into divisions based on who owned the most property, for example the Catholic Church was considered the First Estate, the nobility the Second Estate, and ordinary people the Third Estate. Those in the First and Second Estate, generally the richest people, were exempt from paying taxes while the ordinary people making up the Third Estate had to pay high taxes and resented the lavish spending done by the royal family. The Third Estate, inspired by the Enlightenment formed a National Assembly and went after the royal family solely for revenge. One act of revenge was done in spite of Marie Antoinette, the dismemberment and parading of one of her dearest friend’s body, Princesse de Lamballe (“Marie-Antoinette”).
In the year 1793, the royal family saw endless horrors. In January, Louis XVI was tried and found guilty of high treason and crimes against the state, his punishment was death (Carroll, 259). In July, Marie Antoinette lost custody of her young son, Louis Charles that later died in 1795. And finally on October 16, Marie Antoinette was sent to the guillotine and beheaded (Carroll, 260).
References
Carroll, Leslie. Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe. New York: New American Library, 2012. Print.
Lever, Evelyne. Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. Print.
“Marie-Antoinette.” A & E Networks; 2009. Web.
Marie Antoinette was born the fifteenth of sixteen children in 1755 to the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine (Carroll, 255). In an attempt to ease the tensions between Austria and France Marie Antoinette’s mother negotiated a marriage agreement with Louis XV of France in 1766, Marie was not yet eleven years of age. To formalize their offer Louis XV required Marie Antoinette to undergo a substantial makeover. This included a reconfigured hairline, orthodontia, lessons in French, elocution, dance and the unique walk known to the ladies of the court known as the Versailles Glide (Carroll, 255). After Marie Antoinette, “…got her first period in February 1770, the two courts exhaled a collective sigh of relief. Now the little girl was ripe to become a bride” (Carroll, 255-256). On April 19, 1770 Marie Antoinette married Louis Auguste by proxy in Vienna. On May 16, 1770 they had their second wedding ceremony in the chapel at Versailles. Marie Antoinette was 14 years old, Louis Auguste 15 years old. While the wedding night was highly anticipated to be the night when an heir was to be conceived, however, the royal marriage would not be consummated for more than seven years (Carroll, 257).
A Life as Dauphine
Without children to occupy her time Marie Antoinette channeled her frustration by participating in all-night faro games, outrageous coiffures and masquerade balls (Carroll, 257). Failure to produce an heir subjected Marie Antoinette to much scrutiny. After Louis XV died in 1774, Louis Auguste succeeded him as king of France and became known as Louis XVI, he was 19 years old.
Entry into Motherhood
Marie Antoinette had four children by Louis XVI. While Marie Antoinette gave birth to four children she endured five pregnancies, she endured an unfortunate miscarriage in 1783 (Fraser, 202). Marie Therese (1778-1851), Dauphin Louis Joseph (1781-1789), Louis Charles (1785-1795) and Sophie Helene Beatrice (1786-1787) (Lever, Simplified Genealogy of the French Royal Family).
The Many Names of Marie Antoinette
The scrutiny of Marie Antoinette harshened when she became queen. She was an easy target and scapegoat. She was often labeled an Austrian bitch or whore, in regards to the many rumors that surrounded her sex life. She became known as Madame Veto along with Madame Deficit, for her extravagant expenditures and her neglect of peasantry issues. In an attempt to gain popularity she promoted her own form of propaganda that would label her Mother of the Children of France. Only after her death was she remembered in Canada and France as la reine martyre (the martyred queen).
In the End
The scandal that inevitably tarnished what was left of the Queen’s reputation was the Diamond Necklace Affair. “The accumulation of years of irresponsibility and frivolousness told against her… Because of this unfortunate affair, Marie Antoinette would be seen as a perfidious and debauched woman who squandered the coffers of the kingdom for her personal pleasure, and who took advantage of the King’s weakness, betraying him as a husband to satisfy her lustful instincts and as a sovereign to serve the interests of the Austrian Empire” (Lever, 182).
While it is true that Marie Antoinette basked in the never-ending extravagances allowed to her by being Queen, “For example, she had a model farm built on the palace grounds so that she and her ladies-in-waiting could dress in elaborate costumes and pretend to be milkmaids and shepherdesses (“Marie-Antoinette”). She was merely a scapegoat.
The American Revolution left France tremendously in debt, and Louis XVI’s decision in creating the Three Estates wasn’t any help in relieving the deficit. The Three Estates split the population of France into divisions based on who owned the most property, for example the Catholic Church was considered the First Estate, the nobility the Second Estate, and ordinary people the Third Estate. Those in the First and Second Estate, generally the richest people, were exempt from paying taxes while the ordinary people making up the Third Estate had to pay high taxes and resented the lavish spending done by the royal family. The Third Estate, inspired by the Enlightenment formed a National Assembly and went after the royal family solely for revenge. One act of revenge was done in spite of Marie Antoinette, the dismemberment and parading of one of her dearest friend’s body, Princesse de Lamballe (“Marie-Antoinette”).
In the year 1793, the royal family saw endless horrors. In January, Louis XVI was tried and found guilty of high treason and crimes against the state, his punishment was death (Carroll, 259). In July, Marie Antoinette lost custody of her young son, Louis Charles that later died in 1795. And finally on October 16, Marie Antoinette was sent to the guillotine and beheaded (Carroll, 260).
References
Carroll, Leslie. Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe. New York: New American Library, 2012. Print.
Lever, Evelyne. Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. Print.
“Marie-Antoinette.” A & E Networks; 2009. Web.