Marie Antoinette: French Queen of the Revolution
Interesting Facts
- Marie was born on November 2, 1755
- Before her marriage, she was the Archdutchess of Austria
- Was accused
For More Information....
lucid cafe: about Marie
Marie's Royal history
Austrian-Mint documents
marie-antionette.org
TIMELINE
1755 - Born on 2nd November in Vienna. The youngest daughter
of Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis Stephen.
1766 - French marriage alliance proposed by Vienna
1769 - Louis XV requests the hand of the Archduchess Maria Antonia
for his nephew and heir, the Dauphin Louis-Auguste
1770 - Bridal journey from Vienna through southern Germany to
Strassbourg and then on to Versailles.
1774 - Louis XV dies on the 10th May. Accession of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette to the French throne.
1778 - Her first child, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, is born
1785 - The affair of the diamond necklace.
1789 - The outbreak of the French Revolution. The court is moved to Paris.
1790 - Abolition of the aristocracy.
Civil constitution of the clergy.
1791 - Flight to Varennes. The royal family is brought back to Paris.
1792 - Storm of the Tuileries. The royal family are interned in the Temple
1793 - On the 21st January Louis XVI is executed.
On the 16th October Queen Marie Antoinette dies under the guillotine.
About Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette of Hapsburg-Lorraine (1755-1793) was the daughter of the all-powerful Maria Theresa who reigned in Vienna. France and Austria having settled their differences seven years earlier, in 1770 the heir to the French throne, Louis XV's grandson, married the Austrian archduchess, sealing an alliance that certain people still felt was unnatural. The bride was fifteen years old, the groom sixteen. Their marriage spurred the construction of the Opera, where the wedding festivities were held.
At the death of her husbands grandfather, Louis XV, in 1774, the new king and queen exclaimed, 'Protect us, Lord, for we reign too young.' Louis XVI was not only young, he was unprepared to govern; educational efforts had focused on his elder brother, who died prematurely. The new monarch's natural qualities piety, loyalty, sense of duty, curiosity and interest in technology were not the ones required of a king. And his lack of personal presence was in sharp contrast to the majesty of his predecessors! His love for his people (who reciprocated it) could not compensate for his total lack of decisiveness, which proved fatal for the monarchy.
As soon as she arrived at the court of France, Marie Antoinette occupied the Queen's Suite, where she had to observe the obligations imposed on a French queen levee, dressing, audiences, public repasts, and so on. A queen's primary obligation, of course, was to provide a dynastic heir. That is why eleven years of waiting for the birth of the first child, combined with the queen's overly public friendships and youthful heedlessness led to ill will which never abated even when, later, she devoted most of her time to raising her four children: Madame Royale, the first Dauphin, another daughter who died in infancy, and the future Louis XVII.
Marie Antoinette has been criticized for her excessive penchant for festivities, yet it was Louis XVI who officially charged her with entertaining the court. Her efforts made a real impact: grand balls were held once again, the number of theatres grew, and there was a radical change in both musical and theatrical repertoires (which welcomed foreigners. Too many foreigners to be exact!). The queen, resolutely modern and open to change, favoured composers like Gluck, Piccini, Salieri, Sacchini, and others.
Hoping to recreate at Versailles her earlier lifestyle at Schönbrunn more relaxed, among family and friends Marie Antoinette tended to forget that she was queen of France. She retreated too often with her entourage to her cabinets, the Petit Trianon, or the Hamlet. She even dared to put on Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro, a play censored by the king, in her own little theatre. By surrounding herself with a few favourites, Marie Antoinette cut herself off from the court, whose backing she would lack during the crucial moments of the French Revolution.
