OR Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna on November 2, 1755. She was the daughter of Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa. Her marriage to – then – Louis XVI, in 1770, was partly the work of the Duc de Choiseul, one of the main architects of the reconciliation between of France and Austriamet with a lukewarm reception from the French public, which had not forgotten the country’s long-standing hostility to the House of Habsburg.
In the eyes of the citizens, however, Marie Antoinette and Louis symbolized the promise of a new reign. After all, the aged French king Louis V was not particularly popular and his death, on May 10, 1774, was met rather with relief throughout the kingdom. Thus, Marie Antoinette she became queen before she was even twenty years old.
Having grown up in more liberal circumstances, the young queen had difficulty adapting to the complex etiquette of Versailles.
On her arrival at Versailles, the Austrian-born queen found herself surrounded by many dignitaries: the wake ceremony, the elaborate preparations, the royal audience, the public meals… Having grown up in conditions freer from the point of view of protocol in the royal palaces of Austria, the young queen found it difficult to adjust to the complicated etiquette of Versailles.
In 1778, after eight years of marriage, she gave birth to her first child, Marie-Therese. Followed by Xavier-Francois in 1781, but he would pass away at the age of eight. Third child and heir to the throne, after the death of his brother, was Louis-Charles. The fourth and last child of the royal couple, h Sophie-Beatricelived only a few months. It seems that Marie Antoinette was a loving mother, although this image of her face did not prevail.
He enjoyed entertaining and was influential in the selection of shows to be staged at the Court. He played harp and harpsichordwhile he could sing just as well. He supported many artists and musicians he liked, such as Grétry, Gluck and Sacchini. In addition to being a patron of many artists, such as the painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, he was still avid pool and card playerin which she sometimes lost large sums and sometimes won fortunes from her teammates. This behavior of hers had been criticized many times even by the family of Ludovikos. A typical example is the king’s aunt, Maria Adelaide of France, who did not tolerate this kind of “flamboyant” behavior, even calling her derogatory “the Austrian”.
Under her mother’s influence, she made some clumsy attempts to get involved in politics, but these were met with disdain.
Under her mother’s influence, she made some clumsy attempts to get involved in politics, but these were met with disdain. Although public opinion had initially shown favor towards her person, soon the queen became the target of slander and satirical criticism. Whatever effort was made on her part to win back public opinion failed. When the French Revolution broke out, the queen was a truly hated figure.
She was imprisoned on August 10, 1792. However, she showed great courage both during her trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal and at her execution on October 16, 1793, in what is now the Place de la Concorde. In 1815 her remains, together with those of Louis XVI, were transferred to the Abbey of Saint-Denis and placed in the crypt.
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigone-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
