Marie Antoinette is remembered in history as the Queen of France whose name became synonymous with royal excess and detachment from the suffering of the poor.

“If they have no bread, let them eat cake.” “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche.”

Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755, in Vienna, Austria. Her birth name was Maria Antonia Joanna. She was the fifteenth child of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and Empress Maria Theresa. Raised in the Austrian imperial court, she grew up surrounded by luxury, music, and strict dynastic expectations.

On April 19, 1770, at the age of fifteen, she married the Duke of Berry, who would later become King Louis XVI of France. With the sudden death of King Louis XV from smallpox on May 10, 1774, Marie Antoinette ascended the French throne alongside her husband. Despite her position, she was never fully accepted by the French people and was frequently labeled “the Austrian woman,” a nickname that reflected deep-rooted suspicion and xenophobia.

In 1778, she gave birth to her first child at the Palace of Versailles. Her children were Marie Thérèse Charlotte (born 1778), Louis Joseph (born 1781), Louis XVII Charles (born 1785), and Sophie Hélène Béatrix (born 1786). Although motherhood brought her personal joy, it did little to improve her public image.

Marie Antoinette was widely criticized for her extravagant lifestyle. She spent enormous sums on lavish clothing, costly diamonds, and frequent gambling. On her twenty-first birthday, she hosted a gambling event that lasted three days and three nights, during which vast amounts of money changed hands. She showed little awareness of the true value of money or the financial struggles facing the nation.

Her influence at court extended beyond fashion and entertainment. She began appointing close friends to important positions, often disregarding merit or political stability. These actions intensified resentment among both the nobility and the common people, further isolating the monarchy.

On July 14, 1789, a large crowd in Paris stormed the Bastille Prison, a symbol of royal authority. The prison governor and two far-right politicians were lynched. News reached the Palace of Versailles late at night. When King Louis XVI asked, “Is this a revolt?” he was famously answered, “No, Your Majesty, this is a revolution.”

During the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette refused to accept reforms that would limit royal power. On June 21, 1791, she and the royal family attempted to flee to Austria but were captured in the village of Varennes and returned to Paris as prisoners. On August 10, 1792, the powers of the king and queen were officially abolished, ending the constitutional monarchy, and the royal family was imprisoned.

On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was tried and executed by guillotine for treason. After his execution, Marie Antoinette was separated from her children and placed in solitary confinement. She was accused of distributing state funds to France’s internal and external enemies. Throughout her trial, she firmly maintained that she had served the state loyally.

During her imprisonment, she endured severe psychological abuse. Revolutionaries forced her young son to shout insults against the monarchy beneath her prison window. Accused of conspiracy, espionage, and treason, she was sentenced to death.

Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793, at the age of thirty-eight, in what is now known as the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Her death became one of the most powerful symbols of the French Revolution and the irreversible collapse of the French monarchy.

Source: Biyografiler.com