Now onto our Teen Queen.
Imagine that you are fourteen years old and you are sent away from everyone and everything you know, everything you love. You are sent to a country where you are held in the public eye every moment of your life. And the public hates you, simply because of your nationality. And when you get to this country, you are married to a boy you have practically nothing in common with and then told to produce a boy as soon as possible, being blamed when you and your husband remain childless.
This was the early life of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France. She was the fifteenth child of the Emperor and Empress of the Roman Empire. Her mother, Marie Therese, was a demanding woman, who expected perfection of her children. But she was also a capable ruler, beloved of her subjects. And while she tried to keep a close eye on her children's education, she left the job mostly to governesses. Marie Antionette's governess spoiled the girl, letting her spend more time playing than studying.
Antonia, as she was called by her family, was in awe of her mother and actually closer to her father, Francis Stephen I. Her family was a happy one, with her parents married for love rather than power, but when Antonia was 10 her father died. Four years later, her mother arranged the betrothal of her daughter to the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI.
Fifteen year old Louis was a painfully shy, awkward, chubby boy who preferred hunting and playing with locks to performing his royal duties. At first, Marie Antoinette was a welcomed contrast to their solemn heir. But life in France was much stricter than she was used to and Antonia ended up creating court faux pas, as well as making unwise choices in friends.
She created new (useless) offices for her friends to give them a higher station at court and spent much money on clothing and jewelry, as well as redecorating her homes. She was also generous to the poor and unfortunate, but all the people saw were her expensive and frivolous tastes. When she and Louis ascended the crown at 20, the fears over her frivolity turned to resentment and hate, which helped contribute to the French Revolution. And the country fears the fact that even after five years their newly crowned King and Queen are still childless.
Finally, three years after their ascension to the throne, Marie produces a daughter, who they name Marie Therese Charlotte after the baby's grandmother. Three years later, the couple also has a son, who they name (what else?) Louis Charles. Yes, apparently no royalty is known for their originality in the name department. (The name of her third son (born four years after his brother)? Louis Joeseph.)
Sadly, Marie's first son died young due to a respiratory failure. The couple also had a four child, a daughter named Marie Sophie Elene Beatrix. But the girl died in her first year of life due to tuberculosis. There is a famous painting of Marie with her children.
In this painting Marie Therese is standing next to her mother, who has Louis Joseph on her lap. Louis Charles is pulling aside the bassinet covering. It's believed that Marie Sophie was originally in the bassinet but was painted out at the last minute.
At the birth of her children, Marie settled down and cut back on her extravagant ways. But in the public's opinion, the damage had been done. And as a foreigner, she made the perfect scapegoat for a country looking for an excuse. A combination of crop failings and a harsh winter as well as Louis XVI's declaration that the nobles have 2/3 of the votes in court causes unrest in the city, setting the stage for the French Revolution.
In 1789, a mob of women (and perhaps some men dressed as women under the notion the royal guards would be more hesitant to fire upon women) march to the palace, calling for bread and the Queen's blood. Marie's guards are killed protecting her from the crowd. Encouraged by Lafayette, the King's commander-in-chief, to address the crowd, Marie bravely stood at her balcony, facing down those who called for her death.
The entire family was taken captive after this episode, imprisoned in one of their palaces, the Tuileries, where they remained for two years. A friend of the family organized their escape, but Marie refused to be separated from her children, insisting the entire family ride in a large, slow coach, rather than two faster ones. This decision led to their capture.
Louis XVI lost hope at this point and it fell to Marie to negotiate with the revolutionaries on her family's behalf. But she also secretly pleaded with Austria to intercede and save them. Austria went to war with France and the entire family was charged with treason. In 1792 the monarchy was abolished and the family was moved to Temple Prison.
One kindness was bestowed upon the family; they were all allowed to stay together. They were also treated fairly well, but that December Louis' trial began and in January he was found guilty and executed via guillotine. Louis' brother, who had fled years earlier, declared Louis Charles to be the new king.
For a time, Marie's children were allowed to remain in her cell with her, though they were often ill. But to spite her, Marie's jailers decided to separate her from her son, and placed him in a cell below hers where she could hear him crying. The boy was only ten. A few weeks later, Marie's daughter was taken from her as well.
Finally the night came where she was roughly awakened and taken to a separate prison. She never saw her children again. She was tried and sentenced to death by guillotine. Taken through the streets in an open cart, Marie maintained her composure and dignity to the very end. Her last words were to her executioner, whose foot she had stepped on. She said, "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not mean to do it on purpose."
Louis Charles was kept in his prison cell until his death from tuberculosis. But Marie Therese managed to survive the Revolution. She married her cousin Louis-Antoine, Duc d'Angouleme. She had no children.
Marie's story is a sad one. She was punished mostly for being a foreign and caught in the crosshairs of a country angry at injustice. Is didn't matter that she could have been a great ruler or that she was a generous Queen (her famous words "Let them eat cake" supposedly said gaily in response to pleas for bread by those at the palace gates were never spoken by her and were most likely penned by an incensed revolutionary). The people needed someone to blame and the monarchy was the easiest target.
One book I suggest to get inside the head of young Marie Antoinette is the Royal Diaries book on her, by Kathryn Lasky. It shows a young girl who is very alone and makes some bad decisions in friends simply because she is lonely. I think this may be a sympathetic view of her. But her story was rather tragic. I like the idea of not blaming her more.
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