Marie Antoinette has become synonymous with the phrase “Let them eat cake”. But who was this intriguing woman, and what did she really think of her subjects? Marie Antoniette was born Archduchess Maria Antonia on May 16, 1755 in Vienna. She was the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Francis of Hungary and as such fourth in line to the throne. When she was 15 years old, marriage negotiations began between her and future King Louis XVI of France. Both were just teenagers when they met for the first time in October 1770. They married a few months later on February 10, 1771 at the Chapel Royal of Versailles. In July 1774 Marie gave birth to their first child, a boy called The Dauphin (the heir to the throne). In June 1778 they had another boy called The Duke of Normandy but he died 1 month later. Their final child was born in September 1781 who they named The Duke of Berry but he too died when he was only 6 months old. The relationship between Marie and King Louis deteriorated quickly after giving birth to their third child because she started to spend more time with her friends than him as it is believed that she felt neglected by him because he didn’t give her any more children after that which meant that she couldn’t leave him either because then they would both lose all their privileges as royals or give up everything.
What did the people think of Marie Antoinette?
The people loved Marie as a princess but didn’t like her as a queen. She was always criticised for her extravagant lifestyle, her neglect of her children and her lack of compassion for the lower classes. The people had become very resentful of the royal court. They resented how Marie and the King were given all the riches of France for their personal use and how the taxes the people paid were used for the extravagance of the royal court. They wanted change, and in their eyes, Marie was the root of all their problems.
The Diamond Necklace Affair
In October 1785 a member of the public (a woman named Jeanne de Valois, more commonly known as the ‘Diamond Necklace Affair’) tried to frame Marie. She pretended to be a noblewoman and ordered a fake diamond necklace worth a large amount of money to be delivered to the court. The court claimed that it was custom and tradition for the Queen to pay for such a necklace. Someone who was close to the King and Queen found out about the necklace and contacted the police. Jeanne was caught and sentenced to death but was able to escape to England. Due to her actions the public’s hatred for Marie grew even further.
Why did the French hate her so much?
Marie was blamed for the rise in bread prices because the people believed that she wanted to create a shortage of bread to get rid of them. Marie actually had nothing to do with the regulation of grain, but the people believed that she did. They believed that Marie was too extravagant and didn’t care about the poverty of the lower classes. There were many reasons as to why the French people hated her so much, but it all came down to the fact that she lived a lavish lifestyle whilst the lower classes were living in poverty.
The Beginning of the End
The “Reign of Turd” was a nickname given to the last years of Marie’s rule. This phrase was used due to all the manure that was being spread onto the streets due to the shortage of straw. The French Revolution started in July 1789 when a mob of Parisian citizens stormed the Bastille (a fortress that was used as a prison). The French Revolution became a full-scale war when other European countries such as Great Britain and Austria tried to restore order in France by sending troops.
The End of Marie’s Story
On October 16, 1789, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were forced to leave Versailles and move to Paris. Because the royal couple were now living in a palace in Paris, they became a symbol of the monarchy. On October 16, 1789, a mob stormed the palace and took the royal couple as their prisoners. The next day, the King and the Queen were brought to the Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris and were forced to stand on the balcony of what had been the city hall. The crowd shouted at the King, “Death to the tyrant!” and “Death to the whore!” Neither the King nor the Queen tried to defend themselves, and the King even promised to do all that the people wanted. The King and Queen were then sent to the Temple, a fortified medieval fortress. There, they were kept in atrocious conditions and were treated as if they were criminals. After a few days, the revolutionary government decided to send them to the guillotine. They were both beheaded on the same day: the King on January 10, 1793, and the Queen on October 16, 1793.
Conclusion
The people who wrote the history books in the 18th century needed a villain and saw Marie as the perfect scapegoat. History has a tendency to oversimplify every event and make it black and white. We don’t know what Marie Antoinette actually thought about her subjects or what the King thought about his people. We can only go by what we know about them, and we know that she lived a life of luxury whilst the lower classes were living in poverty. The Diamond Necklace Affair and the Reign of Turd are both examples of how the French people blamed Marie for their problems. She is often portrayed as a vain, extravagant woman who neglected her children and didn’t care about her subjects. But these are just simplified assumptions made by people who needed a scapegoat to blame for their problems.
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