Marie Antoinette: Praised Princess to Condemned Queen

1906 Words4 Pages

Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess born in Vienne, Austria. Her birth name was Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna, but many just called her Marie Antoinette. Her mother, Maria Therese, was the head of state. Maria Therese had all the power and for that reason was a little firm with her children. Her husband, Marie’s father, Francis I was just a figure with not much else. His position is much like the first lady they have in the United States. Marie was the fifteenth child of Maria and Francis. Marie was also the youngest of the daughters and was both doted upon and ignored. She was given everything she wanted and her education was left alone because her mother assumed that Marie being the youngest and with so many before her, Marie would never be used for anything. That was before the smallpox hit, wiping out much of the sisters before Marie. The agreement was one of Maria’s children for one of Louis the 15th’s children. After children deaths on both sides of the agreement, Marie and Louis the 16th were left. At the tender age of 14 Marie was told she was to travel from her home to France to marry a man she had never met.

She was shipped off to France, accompanied by two of her friends. They arrived at the designated place on the border and found a long tent running from Austria to France. Her friends were turned away and Marie was set to tears. They stripped Marie of everything and she, buck naked had to continue on down the tent to be dressed on the French side in French made clothing and accessories. She was then put in a carriage to be taken farther down to be greeted by her new family. Louis 16th was shy and did not meet her as graciously as is custom and his father remarked about her figure and approved. Marie Antoin...

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...sed, and killed for doing nothing more than be herself. She took to the throne at such a young age and for that, she suffered hardships beyond that of any ordinary marriage. Marie Antoinette is a person long gone from many people’s minds but for some she is and always will be “Madame Deficit”, a name she acquired during her reign.

Works Cited

Boyer, M. (2006). The private realm of Marie Antoinette

Campan, Jeanne. (2009). The private life of Marie Antoinette. History Pr Ltd.

Erickson, C. (2004). To the scaffold: the life of Marie Antoinette. Griffin.

Fraser, Antonia. (2002). Marie Antoinette: the journey . Anchor .

Lever, Giroux. (2000). Marie Antoinette: a biography. Farrar Straus & Giroux.

Marie Antoinette – A Biography 1999, Marie Antoinette Online, accessed 12/02/2011, .

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