The name MARIE Antoinette has been etched throughout history.
But not for the proper reasons; at the time of her passing in 1793, Marie had earned the title of France’s most despised woman, and this is why.
Who was Marie Antoinette?
The youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I and the penultimate child, Marie Antoinette was born an archduchess at Vienna, Austria, in 1755.
She married Louis XVI of France when she was just 15 years old.
She became queen on May 20, 1774, when her husband became Louis XVI.
Before the French Revolution ended the monarchy in 1972, she served as the country’s final monarch.
How many children did Marie Antoinette have?
Marie Antoinette was a devoted mother to her four biological children, Sophie Hélène Béatrix, Louis Joseph Xavier François, Louis XVII of France, and Marie Thérèse Charlotte, all born between 1778 and 1785. (born July 1786).
Despite not being the much-anticipated son, Marie Thérèse, her first child, was born four years after she was crowned queen.
Louis Joseph, born to Marie in 1781, was the “dauphin,” or heir apparent, to his father.
Marie gave birth to Louis Charles, her second son, in 1785.
She gave birth to Sophie, her last child, the following year.
But less than a year later, Sophie, who had been born prematurely, passed away, and tragedy struck.
When Louis Joseph, the heir to the throne, passed away from TB at the young age of 7, the royal parents were once more left devastated.
Along with his parents, older sister Marie Thérèse, and aunt Elisabeth, the new heir Louis Charles was photographed.
Following the death of his father, monarchists recognised him as King XVII.
He was, however, kept apart from his family, and at the age of ten he passed away in isolation.
Marie Thérèse was the sole kid to survive the revolution.
1851 saw her passing.
During her reign as Queen, Marie expanded her maternal love beyond her own biological children by adopting four other children.
What was Marie Antoinette accused of?
Due to a number of accusations made against her while she was a judge in the French Court, Marie Antoinette came to be the target of strong national animosity.
After Marie immersed herself in the lifestyle of royalty and the French Court—gambling, partying, and shopping—she was charged with extravagant spending while the French people suffered from a weak economy.
Due of her indulgences, she was given the moniker “Madame Déficit”.
In addition, Anne Turgot and Genevan financier Jacques Necker’s social and financial reforms were allegedly opposed by Marie Antoinette.
And when the Queen was subjected to intensive scrutiny over the “Diamond necklace issue” in 1785, things only got worse.
In this incident, Marie was unjustly accused of buying a pricey diamond necklace and then refusing to pay for it, further infuriating the people of her nation during a difficult time.
The ultimate blow is said to have been delivered when she allegedly said, “Let them eat cake!” in response to the information that starving peasants could not purchase bread.
The French Revolution started in October 1789 when a march on Versailles by disgruntled citizens who had grown weary of the monarchy.
The government had put the royal couple under house arrest in June 1791, but the resistance had grown so strong that the two were compelled to leave for Austria.
The monarchy was dissolved as a result of the royal couple’s capture and imprisonment by the sans-culottes one year later, in 1792.
After was found guilty of treason by a trial, the former French Queen was sentenced to death, popularly known as the guillotine.
Treason is defined as “the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to assassinate or overturn the king or government” by the Oxford English Dictionary.
It was the most terrible offence, and up until the 19th century, it might result in hanging, drawing, and quartering.
Nine months earlier, her husband, the former Louis XVI of France, had been convicted of the same crime and given the death penalty.
Marie Antoinette was executed on October 16, 1793, sharing the same fate as her husband.
She had just turned 37.
She reportedly stepped on her executioner’s foot as she ascended the stairs to the guillotine, a device made for quickly beheading criminals, and apologised, saying, “I did not do it on purpose.”
