10 Things You May Not Know About Marie Antoinette - History in the Headlines 10 Things You May Not Know About Marie Antoinette October 16, 2013 By Christopher Klein Share this: 10 Things You May Not Know About Marie Antoinette Author 10 Things You May Not Know About Marie Antoinette URL Google On the morning of October 16, 1793, Henri Sanson entered the prison cell housing Marie Antoinette, the 37-year-old former queen of France who only hours before had been convicted of treason and sentenced to death. The red-hooded executioner sheared Marie Antoinette’s beloved locks to allow for a quick, clean cut of his guillotine blade. Moments after cutting her hair, Sanson cut off her head as a joyous crowd cheered, “Vive la nation!” More than 220 years after her execution, learn 10 surprising facts about Marie Antoinette. 1. Marie Antoinette was born an Austrian princess.

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, Archduchess Marie Antoinette was the 15th and last child of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and the powerful Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. 2. She was only 14 years old when she married the future Louis XVI. To seal the newfound alliance between longtime enemies Austria and France that had been forged by the Seven Years’ War, the Austrian monarchs offered the hand of their youngest daughter to the heir apparent to the French throne, Dauphin Louis-Auguste. On May 7, 1770, the 14-year-old royal bride was delivered to the French on an island in the middle of the Rhine River, and a grand procession escorted the archduchess to the Palace of Versailles. The day after Marie Antoinette met the 15-year-old future king of France, the two were wed in a lavish palace ceremony. 3. It took seven years for the future king and queen to consummate their marriage. Politics literally made strange bedfellows in the case of Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste.

Just hours after they first met, the young teenagers were escorted to the bridal chamber on their wedding night by the groom’s grandfather, King Louis XV. After the king blessed their bed, gave both a kiss and left the room to allow them to start work on producing a royal heir, nothing happened between the two relative strangers that night. Apparently, nothing happened for the next seven years either. The dauphin suffered from a painful medical condition that rendered him impotent, and the palace gossip soon circulated around Europe. Finally in 1777, Maria Theresa dispatched one of her sons, Emperor Joseph II, to Versailles to intervene, and the problem was rectified either because the now King Louis XVI underwent surgery to correct the problem or because, in the words of the emperor, the couple had been “two complete blunderers.” Within a year, Marie Antoinette bore the first of the couple’s four children. 4. Marie Antoinette was a teen idol. Unlike during her years as queen, Marie Antoinette captivated the French public in her early years in the country.

When the teenager made her initial appearance in the French capital, a crowd of 50,000 Parisians grew so uncontrollable that at least 30 people were trampled to death in the crush. 5. Her towering bouffant hairdo once sported a battleship replica. As Will Bashor details in his new book, “Marie Antoinette’s Head,” royal hairdresser Léonard Autié became one of the queen’s closest confidants as he concocted her gravity-defying hairdos, which rose nearly four feet high. Autié accessorized the queen’s fantastical poufs with feathers, trinkets and on one occasion even an enormous model of the French warship La Belle Poule to commemorate its sinking of a British frigate. 6. A fairy-tale village was built for her at Versailles. While peasants starved in villages throughout France, Marie Antoinette commissioned the construction of the Petit Hameau, a utopian hamlet with lakes, gardens, cottages, watermills and a farmhouse on the palace grounds. The queen and her ladies-in-waiting dressed up as peasants and pretended to be milkmaids and shepherdesses in their picturesque rural retreat.

Marie Antoinette’s elaborate spending on frivolities such as the Petit Hameau infuriated revolutionaries and earned her the moniker “Madame Deficit.” 7. Marie Antoinette never said “Let them eat cake.” When told that starving French peasants lacked any bread to eat, the queen is alleged to have callously declared, “Let them eat cake!” There is no evidence, however, that Marie Antoinette ever uttered that famous quip. The phrase used to encapsulate the out-of-touch and indifferent royals first appeared years before Marie Antoinette ever arrived in France in philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s description of Marie-Therese, the Spanish princess who married King Louis XIV in 1660. The remark was also ascribed to two aunts of Louis XVI before it was apocryphally tied to Marie Antoinette. 8. The trumped-up charges against Marie Antoinette included incest.

Nine months after the execution of the former King Louis XVI, a Revolutionary Tribunal tried the former queen on trumped-up crimes against the French republic that included high treason, sexual promiscuity and incestuous relations with her son Louis-Charles, who was forced to testify that his mother had molested him. After a two-day show trial, an all-male jury found the former queen guilty on all charges and unanimously condemned her to death. 9. She was buried in an unmarked grave and then exhumed. Following the execution of Marie Antoinette, her body was placed in a coffin and dumped into a common grave behind the Church of the Madeline. In 1815, after the Bourbon Restoration returned King Louis XVIII to the throne following the exile of Napoleon, he ordered the bodies of his older brother, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette exhumed and given a proper burial alongside other French royals inside the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis. 10. A U.S. city is named in honor of Marie Antoinette.

When a group of American Revolution veterans founded the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territory in 1788 at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, they wanted to honor France, which had been instrumental in assisting the patriots against the British. They named their new community—Marietta, Ohio—after the French queen and even sent her a letter offering the monarch a “public square” in the town. Tags 16th of October 1793: execution of Marie-Antoinette « Versailles and More After the fall of the monarchy on the 10th of August 1792 , the dethroned Queen was imprisoned in the Tower of the Temple , along with her husband, Louis XVI, their children and Madame Elisabeth, the King’s younger sister. The following December, Louis XVI stands trial before the National Convention, the elected body that now governs France. Louis is executed on the 21st of January 1793 . Then, the following August, Marie-Antoinette is transferred, alone, without her children or sister-in-law Madame Elisabeth, to the jail of La Conciergerie .

It is located within the premises of the main Courthouse of Paris, next to the Revolutionary Tribunal. For an ordinary prisoner that would mean that trial is imminent. But Marie-Antoinette is no ordinary prisoner. She may have some value as a hostage in war negotiations with the Austrians, and the National Convention sends emissaries to that effect to the enemy. But Marie-Antoinette’s brothers, Joseph II and Leopold II, no longer reign over Austria. The new Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, her nephew, has never met her. He is not ready to compromise the hopes of a victory against the French armies for the sake of an aunt he does not know. This is the context of her transfer to La Conciergerie: the National Convention hopes to step up the pressure and show Francis II that a trial is a real possibility. To no avail: the Emperor is content to express his indignation. For the National Convention, there is political advantage in executing a hated public figure, and none in keeping her alive. Furthermore, several escape plans, including one that took her only yards from freedom, have been hatched while Marie-Antoinette was jailed at La Conciergerie.

The National Convention does not want to lose face if she managed to flee. The case is therefore set for trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal, and a preliminary hearing is held at the beginning of October. The trial itself begins on the 14th. The accused states her name: “Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine d’Autriche.” In itself this is a very bold move: she reminds the jurors of her French paternal ancestry (Lorraine) but also, less diplomatically, of the phrase The Austrian Woman . And France is at war with Austria… For a full transcript (in French) of the trial, I direct you to the irreplaceable Royet site . I will not enter into the details of the trial, which would require its separate – and very long – post. The Tribunal remained in session 15 hours on October 14, and almost 24 hours on October 15 and 16.

The transcript notes that “Antoinette almost always kept a calm and assured demeanor; during the first hours of her questioning, she was seen running her fingers on the arm of her chair, as though she were playing the pianoforte.” In my first novel, Mistress of the Revolution , one of the main characters is Pierre-André Coffinhal, a judge of the Revolutionary Tribunal. I have him relate the trial (it was eerie to write, because I had always thought of it from Marie-Antoinette’s standpoint.) Her main line of defense was that she was not responsible for any of her actions! She claimed she had obeyed her husband’s orders when she prepared the flight to Varennes, or when she sent the French war plans to her brother, the tyrant of Austria. Her argument might have succeeded had she been any other woman. In her case, it was common knowledge that Capet [Louis XVI] had fallen entirely under her influence, that he was a hapless imbecile without any will of his own... Of course, that jackass Hébert [representative of the Municipality of Paris] had to disgrace himself by testifying that she had taught her son to pleasure himself.

You may trust that scoundrel to bring up something lewd at every opportunity. [The presiding judge] Herman, who is no fool, let it pass without questioning Antoinette on it. The rest of us judges also ignored it, but one of the jurors insisted that she respond. That gave her an opportunity to feign outrage and appeal to the public. Marie Antoinette before the Revolutionary Tribunal This is of course her famous response to the incest accusation: “I appeal to all mothers!” Throughout the trial, Marie-Antoinette, very pale, physically exhausted, but as imposing as ever in her patched-up black dress, defends herself with energy and dignity. She is assisted by two famous attorneys: Chauveau-Lagarde and Tronçon-Ducoudray. When the case goes to the jury in the early hours of the 16th, the outrageous incest accusation has been dropped. Only remain the counts of treason, conspiracy and collusion with domestic and foreign enemies. The jury retires for over one hour. This is a very long by Revolutionary Tribunal standards. Then the verdict is read: guilty on all four counts. The sentencing is immediate, and there is no appeal from the jugements of the Revolutionary Tribunal.

Had Marie-Antoinette harbored any hope of a different outcome? One of her attorneys, Chauveau-Lagarde, notes that “she was like annihilated by surprise.” She silently shakes her head when the presiding judge asks her whether she has anything to add. She leaves the courtroom without a word, her head held high. From then on, we will simply follow a timeline. 4:30 AM: Marie-Antoinette is taken back to her cell, within the Courthouse building. She feels very faint now. One of the gendarmes, Lieutenant de Busne, offers her a glass of water and his arm to go down the steep corkscrew stairs. He holds his hat in his hand as a sign of respect. Once in her cell, she is given a candle, ink and paper. She writes her famous last letter to her sister-in-law, Madame Elisabeth, a translation of which is provided by Elena at Tea at Trianon . She also writes a few words in her prayer book: This 16th of Oct. at 4:30 in the morning My God, have mercy on me!

My eyes have no more tears to weep for you my poor children; farewell, farewell! Marie Antoinette 7:00 AM: Rosalie Lamorlière, a young servant who has been attending to the former Queen, offers to bring her some food. “I do not need anything anymore,” responds Marie-Antoinette. “All is over for me.” Upon Rosalie’s insistence, Marie-Antoinette accepts a bowl of bouillon, but she can only swallow a few spoonfulls. She is informed that she is not to wear her black dress to her execution. She puts on her only other remaining garment: a white cotton dress, with a black petticoat, and a white cap adorned with black ribbon. She has been bleeding profusely (she is apparently suffering from a uterine fibroma, or possibly some more serious condition) and wishes to change her shirt. She must do so, only shielded by Rosalie, in the presence of the gendarme officer who has replaced Lieutenant de Busne (the latter has been briefly arrested for showing her too much respect.) Rosalie also cuts Marie-Antoinette’s hair short on the neck.

In this fashion the executioner does not have to do it himself to facilitate the operation of the guillotine. marie antoinette led to the guillotine 10:00 AM: The prison concierge and the turnkey find Marie-Antoinette kneeling by her bed, in prayers. She rises. Soon arrive the Court clerk and the judges, who read her the sentence, as required by law. She replies that she knows it all to well, but is told that she must listen to it again. Then enters Henri Sanson, the executioner, who ties her hands behind her back. Again she protests. Louis XVI’s hands were not tied until he reached the foot of the guillotine, but the deposed Queen will receive far less consideration than her late husband. She is taken to the clerk’s office for the last formalities. 11:00 AM: She leaves La Conciergerie and reaches the Cour du Mai, in front of the Courthouse. There an open cart, drawn by two large white horses, is waiting for her. Louis XVI had been taken to the guillotine in the enclosed carriage of the Mayor of Paris, but again she will be treated like any other convict.

However, the security is out of the ordinary: 30,000 men have been called to prevent any escape. Marie Antoinette on the cart to the guillotine David A sworn priest (meaning a cleric who had pledged allegiance to the Constitution) accompanies her the cart, but she politely declines his services. Again this is a stark contrast with the execution of Louis XVI, who had been granted the assistance of an unsworn priest of his own choosing. The executioner and his helper, their hats in hand in sign of respect, also climb onto the cart. It slowly makes its way through the streets of Paris, in the midst of a jeering crowd assembled to see one last time the Queen in her capital. Marie-Antoinette sits very straight in the cart, proud and calm in the face of this display of hate, contempt and anger. 12:00 PM: At last the cart reaches Place de la Révolution, where she can see both her former Palace of Les Tuileries and the guillotine. She shows a strong emotion, but soon regains her composure. She steps off the cart promptly, lightly. Without requiring any help, she climbs the steps to the scaffold.

She does not oppose any resistance and even apologizes for stepping on the executioner’s foot. 12:15 PM: The blade of the guillotine falls. So dies Marie-Antoinette, two weeks before her 38th birthday. Marie Antoinette guillotine Conor Byrne: The Execution of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France The Execution of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France Above: Marie Antoinette, 1783. On this day in history, 16 October 1793, the thirty-eight year old Marie Antoinette, former Archduchess of Austria and more famously queen of France as consort of Louis XVI, was executed during the bloody and brutal French Revolution then ravaging the country. In Simon Sebag Montefiore, Marie Antoinette was 'a woman more sinned against than sinning'. But Eric Konigssberg intriguingly argues that 'the image of Marie Antoinette - dauphine, villain, tea-party thrower in shepherdess garb - is in the midst of an extreme rehab', and she holds a central and fascinating place in popular culture. Her life was compelling, extraordinary, and ultimately, highly tragic.

She in no way deserved her fate, for what crime did she actually commit? In Marie Antoinette's case, it was a brutal but tragic fact that she was, put simply, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many misconceptions and scandals still attach themselves to the French queen's name, most famously the nonsensical rumour that she coldly claimed in regards to starving peasants: "Let them eat cake". It is perhaps more worthwhile to consider the facts of her life rather than the sensational dramas. Born on 2 November 1755 to the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his formidable wife Maria Theresa, empress, she was the fifteenth child of this illustrious union and, from the very first, would have been very well aware of her worth in European dynastic politics. Above: Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; the glamorous palace where Marie Antoinette was born. Marie Antoinette appears to have enjoyed not only a luxurious but also a protective and peaceful childhood surrounded by her many sisters, with whom she was close, especially Maria Carolina; although Marie Antoinette regarded her mother in awe perhaps even fear.

As Antonia Fraser suggests, however, she was probably not academic, and was not noted for her linguistic capabilities in a country in which French, German, and Italian were commonly spoken. She appears though to have had some natural talent in regards to art, and was musically gifted, playing the harpsichord, spinet, harp and clavichord. Her beauty and grace were commended by visitors. In May 1770, the fourteen-year old Marie Antoinette married the Dauphin of France, Louis, in the Palace of Versailles, although famously the marriage was not consummated, and would not be for several anxious years. At this point, Marie Antoinette due to her beauty and graceful nature was popular with her new subjects. Her portraits at this stage depict a youthful, charming, sweet young girl blossoming within her new country. Above: Marie Antoinette, aged 13. But the prevailing tensions between Austria and France rendered the marriage unpopular among courtiers, who resented the alliance, and which was to become increasingly unpopular during the coming years. Marie Antoinette's unorthodox dislike of court protocol rendered her open to ridicule.

Her relationships were also unpopular, particularly with women such as the duchesse de Polignac, which was later sensationalised and distorted into a supposed lesbian affair. Her failure, in the early years of her marriage as Queen of France, to become pregnant, while other royal women such as the comtesse d'Artois were able to bear sons, exposed Marie Antoinette to doubt, anxiety, and ridicule. Satirical pamphlets were published which criticised the king's alleged impotence and claimed that the queen was a whore who sought sexual fulfilment elsewhere with both men and women. This cruelty and anxiety led Marie Antoinette to spend lavishly on fashion, expanding her wardrobe and becoming something of an icon, while earning a reputation as a party-loving queen, renovating the Petit Trianon which soon became associated with her alleged extravagance. Finally, however, in 1778 the queen fell pregnant, and gave birth to her first daughter in December. Still the need for a male heir continued. In 1781, the twenty-six year old queen finally bore a son, Louis Joseph Xavier Francois.

Despite this celebratory event, Marie Antoinette remained uninvolved in political affairs, although she continued to be blamed for allegedly subjecting France to the authority of her home country, Austria. As a result, she began to take an increasingly active role in the upbringing of her children, and in 1785 gave birth to a second son, Louis Charles. The baby was rumoured to be illegitimate, the child of a sordid union between the queen and her favourite, Fersen. By then, the queen's unpopular image among her subjects was rapidly worsening. Above: state portrait of Marie Antoinette and her children, 1787. The worsening financial situation in France forced the calling of the Assembly of Notables after a hiatus of 160 years, although it served little good, instead defying the king. At this stage Marie Antoinette became more closely involved in politics, especially on her children's behalf as they grew older. She actively created an image of herself, as preserved in the 1787 painting above, as a caring and dutiful mother.

Later, the seven-year old Dauphin died, a tragic and devastating affair which broke the queen's heart, although her subjects were not particularly sympathetic as they grew increasingly bloodthirsty and resentful. As the National Assembly demanded more rights, the monarchy slowly but surely became more undermined as an institution due to the king's incompetence and the queen's unpopularity amongst her subjects. As the French Revolution evolved, the royal family's position became greatly dangerous, particularly with the advent of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Their friends, including the comte d'Artois and the duchesse de Polignac, escaped abroad due to fear of assassination. Marie Antoinette continued to be harshly and hostilely criticised in satirical pamphlets, which claimed that she was involved in love affairs with the marquis de La Fayette. The worst of the pamphlets suggested that she had even slept with her own son. Clearly, a cruel and untruthful image was being created of the queen, attacking her through her gender, sexuality and political position. There was no credence to any of these spiteful rumours.

Summarising these complex events in brief, Louis was executed in January 1793, although not without dissent and controversy. How this personally affected his wife can only be imagined, but the last scene between husband, wife and children was poignant and tragic. Marie Antoinette's unpopularity had severely worsened with the declaration of war with Austria the preceding year; her status as enemy of the country was now clear to her subjects as never before. She was imprisoned in August 1793 following her incarceration in the Tower. On 14 October, she was tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal, and was accused of the vilest and most untrue of crimes: orchestrating Versailles orgies, sexually abusing her son, declaring her son to be the new king of France following her husband's execution, sending millions of livre money to Austria, and orchestrating the massacre of the Swiss Guards the previous year. Nonetheless, she remained dignified and answered the charges related to her, but to no avail. She was declared guilty and sentenced to death. Above: Marie Antoinette's execution, 16 October 1793.

Her hair having been cut off, the former French queen was publicly driven through Paris in an open cart to the execution site, and at 12.15pm, aged thirty-eight, she was guillotined at the Place de la Concorde (Revolution), just one of thousands of innocent victims brutally slaughtered during the Revolution. Dressed in white, Marie Antoinette's outfit made, in the words of Gareth Russell, 'a dazzlingly significant statement to those who had come to watch her die'. Her kindness, charity and goodwill were remembered and immortalised by those loyal to her cause, while others continued to slander her and belittle her after her death. She remains a contentious and controversial figure in modern society today, associated with extravagance, luxury, the ill-fate of rule, the French Revolution, fashion, to name but a few.

Maxime de la Rocheterie fittingly wrote of her: 'She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous, somewhat impulsive, but always pure; she was a queen, at times ardent in her fancies for her favourites and thoughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart...' RIP Marie Antoinette. She deserved better than the cruel, bloody fate she met reservedly and calmly on that warm October day, deserted by her subjects, lost to her husband, separated from her children. Although she may not have been the most effective queen of France, the appalling political and social circumstances which were in place during her rule condemned any attempts she made at being a good queen. We should remember her with fairness, honesty, and integrity. She deserved understanding and compassion not afforded by her resentful subjects during an ill-fated, and ultimately tragic, reign as queen of France. Posted by Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution . Famous Faces .

The Teen Queen: Marie Antoinette | PBS Extended Interviews > Resources > For Educators > The Teen Queen: Marie Antoinette As Queen of France, Marie Antoinette had no official role and no legitimate political power — her main job was to produce a male heir to continue her husband's royal line. Like the marriage, the coronation of Louis XVI was greeted warmly by the French people, who had great hopes that after the fifty-year reign of Louis XV, the young King would bring new ideas, much-needed reforms, and a fresh approach to governing France in a rapidly-changing world. This goodwill quickly eroded as the King's economic policies failed, while his Queen failed to produce an heir. He seemed to lose interest in government, as she became aggressively social, attending the Opera and dances in the capital, gambling and partying late into the night at Versailles. In public and at court she was seen only in the latest and most expensive fashions. Rumors about her alleged secret lovers and out-of-control spending increased. Illegal presses began printing pamphlets showing the queen as an ignorant, adulterous spendthrift.

Some speculated in print that the King's brother, the comte d'Artois, was taking the King's place in his wife's bed. Louis XVI was the first French king in two hundred years not to have a royal mistress; Marie Antoinette was the first queen to believe that she could be both wife and mistress to her husband. However, by cultivating fashion, taste, and the arts while failing to produce a legitimate heir, Marie Antoinette looked to all the world like a mistress, not a wife, and one whose sexuality was directed away from the King. All the ire that had been directed at Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, Louis XV's most famous mistresses, was now redirected at the only target available: the Queen who acted like a mistress, but who was not satisfied, it seemed, with the King. Marie Antoinette's first child, Marie Therese Charlotte, was finally born in December 1778, followed by Louis Joseph in 1781, Louis Charles in 1785 and Sophie Béatrix in 1786. As she grew older, the Queen became less extravagant, devoting herself to her children, two of whom died in childhood.

In fact, her first son, the dauphin, died on June 4, 1789. This meant that the Queen was in mourning for her son when the Tennis Court Oath was signed on June 20, the Bastille fell on July 14, and still when the Great Fear spread throughout the countryside in August. In October 1789, the royal family was forced to leave Versailles for the Tuileries palace in the heart of Paris, where they lived in prison-like isolation. Marie Antoinette secretly requested help from other European rulers, including her royal siblings in Austria and Naples. On the night of June 20, 1791, the royal family attempted to flee. Their escape plan was said to have been engineered by Axel von Fersen, the Swedish count who was rumored to be one of the Queen's lovers. It is incontestable that Marie Antoinette's brother awaited the royal family just across the border and that he was accompanied by troops ready to invade. They were caught in the small town of Varennes, half-way to the border, and brought back to Paris, prisoners now of the Revolutionary government.

On the night of August 10, 1792, militants attacked the royal palace where Marie Antoinette and her family were being held and forced the Legislative Assembly to "suspend" the King. Little more than a month later, on September 20, the new National Convention was convened, and two days later it voted to declare France a republic, thus abolishing the monarchy. From that moment on, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were no longer King and Queen, but, like many others, imprisoned citizens suspected of treason. Marie Antoinette became a widow when her husband was guillotined to death after being tried and convicted of treason in January 1793. Her two remaining children were subsequently taken from her. After a brief trial, Marie Antoinette herself was convicted of treason and also of sexual abuse of her son in October 1793. On October 16, she too was executed by guillotine. She was 37 years old. Famous Faces Marie Antoinette: Queen Executed in French Revolution Updated October 02, 2016.

Marie Antoinette Facts Known for supposedly saying "Let them eat cake," as well as for her support of the monarchy against reforms and against the French Revolution, and for her execution at the guillotine. Also Known As: Maria-Antoine, Josephe-Jeanne-Marie-Antoinette, Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Biography Marie Antoinette was born in Austria, a daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. She was born on the same day as the famous earthquake of Lisbon. As with most royal daughters, Marie Antoinette was promised in marriage in order build a diplomatic alliance between her birth family and the family of her husband. (Her sister, Maria Carolina , was married to Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, for example.) Marie Antoinette married the French dauphin, Louis, grandson of Louis XV of France, in 1770. He ascended the throne in 1774 as Louis XVI. Marie Antoinette was welcomed in France at first. continue reading below our video What is a Guillotine? Her frivolity contrasted with the withdrawn personality of her husband.

After her mother died in 1780, she became more extravagant and this led to growing resentment. The French were suspicious of her ties to Austria and her influence on the King in attempting to foster policies friendly to Austria. Marie Antoinette, formerly welcomed, now was vilified for her spending habits and opposition to reforms. The 1785-86 Affair of the Diamond Necklace , a scandal in which she was accused of having an affair with a cardinal in order to obtain a costly diamond necklace, further discredited her and reflected on the monarchy. After an initial slow start at the expected role of childbearer -- her husband apparently had to be coached in his role in this -- Marie Antoinette gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in 1778, and sons in 1781 and 1785. By most accounts she was a devoted mother. Paintings of the family stressed her domestic role.

Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution After the Bastille was stormed on July 14, 1789, the queen urged the king to resist the Assembly's reforms, making her even more unpopular, and leading to the attribution to her of the remark, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!" -- "Let them eat cake! " In October, 1789, the royal couple were forced to move to Paris. Reportedly planned by Marie Antoinette, the escape of the royal couple from Paris was stopped at Varennes on October 21, 1791. Imprisoned with the king, Marie Antoinette continued to plot. She hoped for foreign intervention to end the revolution and free the royal family. She urged her brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, to intervene, and supported a declaration of war against Austria in April, 1792, which she hoped would result in the defeat of France. Her unpopularity helped lead to the overthrow of the monarchy when Parisiennes stormed the Tuileries palace on Aug. 10, 1792, followed by the establishment of the First French Republic in September.

The family was imprisoned in the Temple on August 13, 1792, and moved to the Conciergie on Autust 1, 1793. There were several attempts to escape, but all failed. Louis XVI was executed in January 1793, and Marie Antoinette was executed by the guillotine on October 16 of that year. She was charged with aiding the enemy and inciting civil war.

Marie Antoinette Biographies Madame Campan, The Private Life of Marie Antoinette Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette (2006) Caroline Weber, Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution (2006) Marie-France Boyer, The Private Realm of Marie Antoinette (2006) Antonia Fraser, Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (2001) Chantal Thomas, The Wicked Queen: The Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette (2001) Evelyne Lever, Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France (2000) Dorothy Moulton Mayer, Marie Antoinette: The Tragic Queen (1969) Stanley Loomis, The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes (1962, 1972) André Castelot, Queen of France: A Biography of Marie Antoinette (1957) Stefan Zweig, Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman (trans.

1933; 2002) Hilaire Belloc, Marie Antoinette (1909; 2d ed. 1924) More women's history biographies, by name: Today in History: Marie Antoinette beheaded (10/16/1793) Today in History: Marie Antoinette beheaded (10/16/1793) Posted on 10/16/2006 11:24:52 AM PDT by yankeedame Marie Antoinette, Royalty Died: 16 October 1793 (beheading) Best Known As: Queen of France, 1775-93 Name at birth: Maria Antonia Exécution de Marie Antoinette ...At two o'clock in the morning of 2 August 1793 Marie Antoinette was awoken by guards and told to get dressed. She was taken away from her daughter and sister-in-law and transferred across Paris to the Conciergerie Prison.

The Conciergerie Prison where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her death "the Widow Capet" She was re-named "the Widow Capet," after Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian Dynasty. She was no longer to be referred to as "Marie Antoinette" but simply "Antoinette Capet" or "Prisoner No. 280." A young peasant girl, Rosalie Lamorlière, was entrusted to take care of Marie Antoinette's needs, but these were few since the queen did not ask for much. "Le cachot de la reine à la Conciergerie - gravure du temps." On 2 September the republican journalist and politician, Jacques Hébert told the Committee of Public Safety, "I have promised [my readers] the head of Antoinette. I will go and cut it off myself if there is any delay in giving it to me." Jacques Hébert Most republicans now felt an intense hatred for her and they were determined to see her dead. She was brought to trial on 14 October. When she entered the courtroom, most people were shocked at her appearance.

She was emaciated, prematurely aged, exhausted and care-worn. Forty witnesses were called by the prosecution. They returned to the Affair of the Necklace or alleged that the queen had plied the Swiss Guard with alcohol during the siege of the palace. The most horrific charges came whenever Hébert accused her of having sexually abused her own son. When the queen was pressed to answer this charge she replied, "If I have not replied it is because Nature itself refuses to respond to such a charge laid against a mother." The following questions were actually put to the jury: -Is it established that manoeuvres and communications have existed with foreign powers and either external enemies of the republic, the said manoeuvres, &c., tending to furnish them with assistance in money, give them an entry into French territory, and facilitate the progress of their armies? - Is Marie Antoinette of Austria, the widow Capet, convicted of having co-operated in these maneuvres and maintained these communications? - Is it established that a plot and conspiracy has existed tending to kindle civil war within the republic, by arming the citizens against one another?

- Is Marie Antoinette, the widow Capet, convicted of having participated in this plot and conspiracy? The jury decided unanimously in the affirmative, and she was condemned to death for treason on 15 October and escorted back to the Conciergerie. She wrote her final letter known as her "Testament", to her sister-in-law Elisabeth. She expressed her love for her friends and family and begged that her children would not seek to avenge her murder. Execution Jacques-Louis David: Sketch of Marie Antoinette on the way to the guillotine On the morning of 16 October a guard arrived to cut her hair and bind her hands behind her back. She was forced into a common, slow-moving cart and paraded through the streets of Paris for over an hour before reaching the Place de la Révolution where the guillotine stood. She stepped lightly down from the cart and stared up at the guillotine. The priest who had accompanied her whispered, "This is the moment, Madame, to arm yourself with courage." Marie Antoinette turned to look at him and smiled, "Courage?

The moment when my troubles are going to end is not the moment when my courage is going to fail me." Legend states that her last words were "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose," spoken after she had stepped on the executioner's foot. At 12:15 on Wednesday 16 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was executed. Her head was exhibited to a cheering crowd. Her body was then taken and dumped in an unmarked mass grave in the Rue d'Anjou. That's no way to get ahead in life. Not worth losing one's head over. It's a shame she wasn't more headstrong. She'll never be the head of a major corporation. "That'll do, Austin." [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: yankeedame Kirstin Dunst looks nothing like the woman in the sketches. Dunst will play Marie A in the forthcoming film.

4 posted on 10/16/2006 11:33:54 AM PDT by sarasota To: yankeedame Constrast and compare the American War for Independence with the French Revolution, not even twenty years apart. In the former, the rebelling colonials relied upon God, and invoked the name of Jesus. In the latter, the rebelling French mocked the Christian faith and openly murdered nuns and priests and destroyed churches. At one point, the French revolutionaries took a common whore, placed upon her naked frame a sash proclaiming her to be "La Deite de Raison" and set her up on the altar of a Catholic church, bowing to her in mock worship. The French Revolution was the first Communist Revolution. .

5 posted on 10/16/2006 11:38:07 AM PDT by Westbrook (Having more children does not divide your love, it multiplies it!) To: yankeedame yet another entry into the new trend of irreverant historical action figures 8 posted on 10/16/2006 11:45:09 AM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad!) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: yankeedame I thought Marie Antonette was a movie actress from the 40's didn't know she was a Queen who was beheaded. So was she guilty of incest or did her enemies set her up to execute her? 9 posted on 10/16/2006 11:46:59 AM PDT by Global2010 [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: Westbrook Amen, brother. That's the first time -- outside a Birch meeting years ago -- that I've heard anyone correctly describe the French Revolution. And it's been downhill for the frogs ever since.

Thanks for getting it right. 10 posted on 10/16/2006 11:57:56 AM PDT by Dick Bachert [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies ] To: Westbrook Do you have proof that the French revolutionaries mocked all christians or that they were communist (marxist, leninist, maoist, fascist) in nature? My history books tell me that the French Revolution legalized (yes, legalized for the first time in 1,400 years) the open worship of protestantism, sabbatarianism, Judaism, mohammedism, paganism, agnosticism, and even atheism if you so chose in your own free will. They also eliminated the state mandated coersion that the Catholic Church control a tithe (1/10) of all civil taxation. The Revolution also dismantled the Catholic hegemony in land distribution--church lands that could not be circulated into a free market economy. It also eliminated the Catholic Church intimately involved in secular politics of the sovereign nation on behalf of the interests of a foreign city-state theocracy.

History tells us that the Catholic church co-ruled France in a pseudo-theocracy making all other religions and sects illegal, punishable by death if need be, and subject to all efforts of the Office of Inquizition--which meant all lands, titles, and wealth of non-conformists could be seized as church property on behalf of the Holy See. And the co-rule also made France's destiny guided by the ambitions of Roman popes that sometimes had horrible results for the French armies and navies. BTW, you will notice that the US Constitution does not allow a state religion, nor a coersive tithe system to a state-mandated religion, nor an allowance for ecclesiatic positions in sectarian matters. The USA was not nor will not ever be a theocracy as long as the Constitution reigns supreme as law of the land. You have inalienable rights to free will choices. It was also a vision the French Revolutionists were initially trying to bring to the Republic. So, in truth, the French Revolution was neither communist nor anti-religion. However, it did rid the country of its puppet strings under the sway of Pontiff et al. That's what my history books tell me.

Regarding communism, I think the second French Revolution of the 1840's was more likely a source influencing or influenced by Marx. It did not succeed. 12 posted on 10/16/2006 12:17:48 PM PDT by sully777 (You have flies in your eyes--Catch-22) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies ] To: Westbrook All revolutions seem to start off moderate. Later they are hijacked by radical extremists--the American Revolution being the exception. And it's highly possible that it would have taken that course were it not for the measured and temperate leadership of Washington. 13 posted on 10/16/2006 12:28:00 PM PDT by Cyclopean Squid (Clockwatcher Extraordinaire) To: sarasota A preview for the movie came on tv while I was reading this.....weird. 14 posted on 10/16/2006 12:48:45 PM PDT by Mr.

Blonde (You know, Happy Time Harry, just being around you kinda makes me want to die.) To: sarasota Hollywood does an extremely poor, poor, poor job of getting historical figures (female) right. The worst was 'The Necklace' where every female lead was under 25 and a skeleton. When they all should have been older and heavier. Looked like a "Teen History" movie. 16 posted on 10/16/2006 12:51:49 PM PDT by najida (The internet is for kids grown up-- Where else could you have 10,000 imaginary friends?) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ] To: yankeedame Oh, I forgot to FYI that that frown you see on her face in that pencil drawing by David was not one of contempt or scorn. It seems she suffered a mild stroke a day or two before her execution, this caused part of her face to "droop".

17 posted on 10/16/2006 12:52:46 PM PDT by yankeedame ("Oh, I can take it but I'd much rather dish it out.") To: najida It isn't like they have a lot of options for heavier actresses. 18 posted on 10/16/2006 1:00:21 PM PDT by Mr. Blonde (You know, Happy Time Harry, just being around you kinda makes me want to die.) To: Mr. Blonde True, but the fashions of the era look very weird on boney frames. The corsets were made for plumper, more buxom women. On very thin females, they looked very odd. Like no matter how tight they tied them, they never hit skin.

19 posted on 10/16/2006 1:05:27 PM PDT by najida (The internet is for kids grown up-- Where else could you have 10,000 imaginary friends?) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies ] To: yankeedame Thanks for this post - reading a book on "The Terror" now - unfortunately it takes a very pro-revolutionary bias - as if all those folks deserved to have their heads chopped off. I actually trace all the madness back to the "enlightenment" - that was the equivalent of Eve biting into the apple - once man is deemed as being either perfect or perfectable - watch out! Of course the islamofascists' solution of theocracy is no good either. The Pope nailed it when he said the greatest good is served when faith is combined with logos - a balance is truly needed. [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: yankeedame It seems to me that Marie Antoinette was a simple young woman who was easilly spoiled in royalty, and who made a very convenient symbol for all that was wrong with France.

That France was never able to conclude or resolve its own revolution tells us more than we need to know about its intellectual and philosophical leadership. More and more, the American Revolution, with so many great minds devoted to it, looks like a one time deal. 21 posted on 10/16/2006 3:38:15 PM PDT by Continental Soldier [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: sully777 Your statement seems to be that one form of religious persecution acceptable. In mocking the Roman Catholic Church, raising up "La Deite de Raison" in her place, Christianity itself was being mocked. Protestants also condemned heretics to die, so your point about the Inquisition misses the mark. The US Constitution allowed for state churches, just none on the Federal level.

22 posted on 10/16/2006 5:33:29 PM PDT by GoLightly [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies ] To: Continental Soldier It seems to me that Marie Antoinette was a simple young woman who was easilly spoiled in royalty, and who made a very convenient symbol for all that was wrong with France. Marie Antoinette was villified in her lifetime, although afterwards somewhat exonerated, or at least treated more sympathetically. Part of her frivolty and extravagance stemmed from frustration over her husband Louis XVI's sexual problems. Their marriage went unconsummated for seven years. After his problem was corrected, and they started having children, she started to mature. However, she never regained her reputation or popularity among the French people. 23 posted on 10/16/2006 10:47:25 PM PDT by MoochPooch (I'm a compassionate cynic.) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies ] To: GoLightly; uglybiker Your statement seems to be that one form of religious persecution acceptable.

In mocking the Roman Catholic Church, raising up "La Deite de Raison" in her place, Christianity itself was being mocked. "La Deite de Raison"--the goddess of reason as a whore persecuted Catholics...many a fundamentalist would role his eyes in the strong irony. In any event, I never said that any form of persecution is acceptable in my original post. Your comment suggests you view humor such as mockery as a form of religious persecution? On the contrary, mockery is great sport amongst every religious sect as a form of teaching--read Elijah's taunt of the priests of Baal or Jesus' taunts of the religious caste systems of his day. Yet, your comment is not really connected to my original post. Regardless of your formed bias, iconoclastic behavior is not persecution. It's actually protected by the US constitution as free speech (unless in your ideal theocracy, you will revoke such freedoms). Iconoclastic views may be unpopular with a certain group taunted; however, it is not the same as the massacre of Beziers. Mockery is not the same as the Albigenses Crusade which was a church-state mandated persecution. The double cross of the Knights Templar was persecution. Krystalnacht was persecution.

Anti-catholic laws in northern Europe was persecution. Sunday laws forcing Jews and Muslims to miss two days of work were subtle forms of persecution. Killing all Druids was persecution. Banning the use of the Celtic language in England was persecution. Killing Armenian Christians was persecution. Making Mithra ism illegal was persecution. Destroying the Library of Alexandria/Pergamon was unthinkable stupidity and a calculated persecution of the world of the "pagan"...Do you see the vast differences? As per my original post, allowing freedom of thought built up the USA on the idea of Enlightenment. Allowing freedoms is good although an icon may get mocked once in a while...at least no one loses their rights, private property, and/or life by the cold hand of the state. Protestants also condemned heretics to die, so your point about the Inquisition misses the mark. Perhaps you should study the Inquisition closer, particularly as it involves the French government duties toward Rome. The French Republic's foreign and domestic policies were no longer led by the nose by the Office of Inquisition out of Rome after 1787.

My point is that Protestant sects, nonconformists, and all other non-christians were technically outlawed in pre-revolution France. And Saint Bart's Day proved that a monarch's word could be revoked by royal-ecclestistical whimsy at any time. That meant they could be subject to capital punishment. That meant that all their substance could be confiscated. That meant they were subject to constant harassment from the state (see the history of double jeopardy in American law) on grounds of conscious. My point was that these sects along with other religions were freed from being "illegal" during the Revolution ...so your point is a non sequitur. The US Constitution allowed for state churches, just none on the Federal level. May I suggest you purchase a copy of the Constitution. US Constitution does not allow a mandated state-religion on the federal or state level. The state of Maryland does not grant the Catholic Church sole custody of ecclesiastical authority. The state of Oklahoma does not grant the Southern Baptist Convention the rights granted to the Church of England in the UK. The state of Delaware does not force children to attend Lutheran-only schools.

The tax monies of the citizens of Utah are not tithed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There is no state church in the USA. You would do well to read my comments carefully as it relates to the post I was reacting to. 24 posted on 10/17/2006 11:27:50 AM PDT by sully777 (You have flies in your eyes--Catch-22) Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution . Timeline . Reign of Terror: 1793-1794 | PBS Execution in a public square 1793 September 5: The Reign of Terror begins when Robespierre declares Terror "the order of the day." This marks the beginning of almost two years of repressing perceived enemies of the Revolution. It will claim an estimated 18,500-40,000 lives before its end in July 1794. September 21: The Convention requires all women to wear the Republic's tri-colored ribbon insignia.

Marie Antoinette in front of the revolutionary tribunal September 29: Law of the general maximum introduced to control prices and regulate wages. October 5: Revolutionary Calendar introduced as part of the revolutionary program of dechristianization. Year 1 begins with the declaration of the Republic in September 1792. October 14: Marie Antoinette is put on trial on charges ranging from treason to her role in the Diamond Necklace Affair and sexually abusing her son, the dauphin. Marie Antoinette on her way to the guillotine October 15: Before nine male judges, Marie Antoinette is found guilty on all counts by an all-male jury which unanimously condemns her to death. October 16: Marie Antoinette is executed by guillotine. October 31: 21 Girondin deputies who have not gone into hiding are executed by Revolutionary Tribunal. Jean-Marie Roland had escaped, but his wife, Manon Roland, is executed a week later as part of the purge. Marie Antoinette at the guillotine November 10: The Festival of Reason is celebrated in Notre Dame Cathedral emphasizing the secular principles of knowledge, reason, and political liberty.

All churches will soon be closed. December 19: Napoleon Bonaparte's artillery distinguishes itself in the siege and capture of the French naval port of Toulon, forcing evacuation of the British. Counterrevolution collapses in the Vendï¿½e. December 25: Robespierre justifies revolutionary government as a necessary but temporary form of war against the enemies of liberty. Constitutional government, he argues, can only protect liberty once this war has been won. and liberty has been peacefully established. 1794 February 4: Slavery is abolished in all French colonies. February 26-March 3: The Laws of Ventose authorize the seizure and redistribution of property belonging to enemies of the Revolution. April to May: Military danger from external forces decreases. June 8: Robespierre presides over Festival of the Supreme Being. June 10: The Law of the 22nd Prairial accelerates judicial procedures for accused enemies of the revolution. The Terror is re-enforced. 2/3 of all executions by Revolutionary Tribunal occur after this date. July 23: Another wage and price control law is passed.

Interrogation of Robespierre July 27-28: The Reign of Terror ends with the fall of Robespierre on July 27. The Convention charges Robespierre and his allies with crimes against the Republic. They are accused, condemned, and guillotined within two days executed. Timeline

Question: In which year was Marie Antoinette executed?
Answer: 1793