Marie Antoinette Biography: Marie Antoinette was the princess of Austria and the wife of King Louis XVI. She got married at the age of 14. From the time of marriage to the start of the reign of King Louis she found it hard to adapt to the French culture, which resulted in her committing more and more mistakes that damaged her image most destructively.
Table of Contents
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Early life
Marie Antoinette was born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, as Archduchess of Austria, she was the last child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis. Marie was born on All Souls Day a day for mourning for Christians so her birthday was celebrated a day before her birthday at All Saints Day. Maria Antonia was raised together with her sister Maria Carolina of Austria, who was three years older, and with whom she had a lifelong close relationship.
The death of her older sister because of smallpox in 1767 left a scar on young Marie. Later in 1768, Mathieu-Jacques de Vermon was sent to Marie Antoinette to tutor her and get her ready to be Louis XVI’s wife, at the age of 13 she lacked basic skills like reading and writing instead of being smarter than expected because she was lazy and this also made her hard to teach.
History
Maria Theresa and King Louis XV wanted to end their seven-year-long war and they sealed their alliance with a marriage. Louis XV formally requested the hand of Maria Antonia for his eldest surviving grandson and heir, on on 7 February 1770.
She had a proxy wedding in the Augustinian Church, in Vienna. Maria Antonia met her husband for the first time at the edge of the forest of Compiègne Legacy. On her arrival, Maria Antonia adopted her French name, Marie Antoinette, and a proper ceremonial wedding was held. Their wedding had mixed reactions as they were unable to consummate after the wedding and made a mockery of their name for the next seven years. And Marines didn’t exactly had a pleasant relationship with some people who opposed the alliance with Austria for some other reasons.
After the death of Louis XV in 1774, Louis XVI ascended the throne.
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Children
Louis XVI was not able to take their martial affairs to bed until he was 22 because he suffered from phimosis until Joseph II suggested he may have that disease which was relieved by circumcision. They finally consummated in August 1777 and 8 months later she was suspected to be pregnant which was officially announced on 16 May. Marie-Thérèse Charlotte the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette was born at Versailles on 19 December 1778.
Her second pregnancy ended with a miscarriage, Then her third pregnancy was announced on March 1781, and on 22 October she gave birth to Louis Joseph Xavier Franço. Other than her children among which none survived to be an adult, She also adopted quite a few children which were “Armand” Francois-Michel Gagné, a poor orphan adopted in 1776; Jean Amilcar, a Senegalese slave boy given to the queen as a present by Chevalier de Boufflers in 1787, but whom she instead freed, baptized, adopted and placed in a pension; Ernestine Lambriquet, daughter of two servants at the palace
Death
Marie Antoinette was killed as it seemed important to do so, for the conclusion of the French Revolution as she was accused of conspiring with foreign powers, treason, and depletion of state treasury after the execution of her husband.
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