Biography of Marie Antoinette - Queen of France

The biography of Marie Antoinette is invariably connected with the epoch-making events of France itself. After all, the time of her life and stay in the royal palace falls on the most interesting period of European history.

An early biography of Marie Antoinette

The future queen was born in November 1755 in the capital of the Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs - Vienna, in a respectable family, akin to the imperial house. Her father was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Franz Stefan, and the mother - the Archduchess Maria Theresa. Her childhood and youth Maria spent at court, mainly it was the palace of Schönbrunn. Here she was brought up according to strict noble canons, studying dances, theatrical performances, history, spelling, politics, painting, mathematics and foreign languages. Already at the age of fifteen, the girl is married to the French prince Louis, after which the biography of Marie Antoinette changes abruptly. Soon she becomes the queen of France.

Biography of Marie Antoinette: a place on the throne

Already in 1774 the king of France, Louis XV died of smallpox, and the country wished health to the new king - Louis XVI. The next twentieth anniversary was marked by the growing deterioration of the country's economic situation, and considerable blame for this lay on the shoulders of the short-sighted monarch. Contemporaries often described him as a man with a good heart and good intentions. However, extremely hesitant. He began his reign with encouraging reforms aimed at limiting the arbitrariness of the nobility, and in general reducing their influence on the life of the state. Objectively, this estate became increasingly a relic of the Middle Ages.

In order to keep up with the development of its eternal rival, England and France, it was necessary to withdraw from the feudal system of relations, replacing it with a new social and economic order. However, the nobles quickly rebuffed the young ruler, after which the country's situation began to deteriorate more and more, further aggravated by the king's continued inaction: the treasury was leaky, the loans reached record sizes, taxes were increasing, laying a heavy burden on the shoulders of the leased estates.

Marie Antoinette, whose biography in this situation was only entertainment, lavish balls and fashion shows, became a symbol and perhaps the main object of hatred on the part of the broad masses. And indeed, having a significant influence on her husband, she in no small measure contributed to the separation of the royal court from the people. Up to comical situations, when the highest aristocrats completely lost touch with reality and did not understand closely what was happening in the country. In this respect, her indicative phrase is known in response to the message that people require bread: "If they do not have bread, let them eat cakes!"

Swan song of the royal couple was the financial crisis of 1788, when the king convened a parliament to try to take the next cash loans. After the failure, Louis XVI furiously tried to arrest a number of members of parliament and completely abolish this institution. This led to a long string of events, as a result of which the popular masses took the political prison of Bastille, the Bourbon dynasty was overthrown from the throne, and the royal couple was executed in 1793.

Marie Antoinette. Biography. Children

In this marriage, four children were born. Two princes died as a child, during the turbulent times of the revolution. Daughter Sofia did not even live to see this, having died at an early age in 1787, but her eldest daughter, Maria Teresa of France, escaped to Vienna. Later she returned to France and even became an official princess during the restoration of the dynasty.