Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette with the Rose Portrait by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1783.
Queen consort of France and Navarre
Tenure	10 May 1774 – 4 September 1791
Queen consort of the French
Tenure	4 September 1791 – 10 August 1792
Born	(1755-11-02)2 November 1755 Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Died	16 October 1793 (aged 37) Place de la Révolution, Paris, France
Burial	21 January 1815 Saint Denis Basilica, France
Spouse	Louis XVI of France
Issue	Maria Thérèse, Queen of France Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France Louis XVII of France Princess Sophie
Full name Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna
House	Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Maria Theresa
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

Marie Antoinette (/ˈmæriˌæntwəˈnɛt/, /ˌɑ̃ːntwə-/, /ˌɑ̃ːtwə-/, US /məˈriː-/;^[1] French: [maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt]; born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen (2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793), an Archduchess of Austria, was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Empress Maria Theresa.

In April 1770, upon her marriage (at the age of 14 years and 5 months) to Louis-Auguste, heir to the throne of France, she became Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, when her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI, upon the death of his grandfather Louis XV, she became Queen of France and Navarre, title she held until September 1791, when, at that time of the French Revolution, she became Queen of the French, a title she held until 21 September 1792.

After eight years of marriage, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the first of her four children. Despite her initial popularity, a growing number of the population eventually came to dislike her, accusing L'Autrichienne, "the Austrian woman" (a nickname given her upon her arrival to France by Louis XV's daughters, Mesdames de France), of being profligate, promiscuous,^[2] and of harbouring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly her native Austria.^[3] The Diamond Necklace affair damaged her reputation further. During the Revolution, she became known as Madame Déficit because the country's financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to the social and financial reforms of Turgot and Necker.

During the Revolution, after the government had placed the royal family under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace in October 1789, several events linked to Marie Antoinette, in particular the June 1791 attempt to flee, and her role in the War of the First Coalition, had disastrous effects on French popular opinion. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the royal family to take refuge at the Assembly, and on 13 August the family was imprisoned in the Temple. On 21 September 1792, the monarchy was abolished. After a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and she was executed by guillotine on Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793.

Early life (1755-1770)

Maria Antonia was born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace, in Vienna. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa.^[4] Her godparents were Joseph I and Mariana Victoria, King and Queen of Portugal; Archduke Joseph and Archduchess Maria Anna acted as proxies for their newborn sister.^[5][5][6] Shortly after her birth, she was placed under the care of the Governess of the Imperial children, Countess von Brandeis.^[7] Maria Antonia was raised with her three-year older sister Maria Carolina, with whom she had a lifelong close relationship.^[8] As to her relationship with her mother, it was difficult but both the empress and her daughter loved each other.^[9]

Maria Antonia spent her formative years between the Hofburg Palace and Schönnbrunn, the imperial summer residence in Vienna,^[10] where on 13 October 1762 she met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a child prodigy.^{[11][12][13][14]}

In spite of the private tutoring she received, results of her schooling were less than satisfactory.^[15] At the age of ten, she could not write correctly in German or in any language commonly used at court, such as French and Italian.^[16] Conversations with her were stilted.^[17][18]

Under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Maria Antonia developed into a good musician. She learned to play the harp,^[15] the harpsichord and the flute. During the family's gatherings in the evenings, she would sing, as she had a beautiful voice.^[19] She also excelled at dancing,^[20] had an "exquisite" poise,^[20] and loved dolls.^[20][20]

Marriage to Louis-Auguste de France (1770)

Following the Seven Years' War and the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, King Louis XV of France. Their common desire to destroy the ambitions of Prussia and Great Britain and to help secure a definitive peace between them led them to seal their alliance with a marriage: on 7 February 1770, Louis XV formally asked the hand of Maria Antonia for his eldest surviving grandson and heir Louis-Auguste, Duke of Berry and Dauphin of France.^[21]

On 17 April Maria Antonia formally renounced all her rights over the Habsburg domains, and on 19 April she was married by proxy to the Dauphin of France at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, with her brother Archduke Ferdinand standing in for the Dauphin.^[22][23][24]

On 7 May 1770, on the Île aux Épis, an island on the Rhine between Kehl and Strasbourg, Marie Antoinette was officially handed over to comtesse de Noailles, her lady in waiting until 1775, in charge of the proper court étiquette Marie-Antoinette was to follow.^[25][26] On 14 May, at the edge of the forest of Compiègne, she met king Louis XV, her husband the Dauphin, the king's daughters, Mesdames de France, Adélaïde, Sophie, Victoire, the following day, her brothers-in-law, Louis Stanislas Xavier, comte de Provence; and Charles Philippe, comte d'Artois, at the Château de la Muette,^[27][28] and on 16 May, her husband's younger sisters, Madame Clotilde and Madame Élisabeth, at Versailles.

The ceremonial wedding took place on 16 May 1770 in the Palace of Versailles and, after the festivities, the day ended with the ritual bedding.^[29][30] The lack of consummation of the marriage plagued the reputation of both Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette for the next seven years.^[31][32]

The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste was mixed. On the one hand, the Dauphine was popular among the people. Her first official appearance in Paris on 8 June 1773 was a resounding success: she and the Dauphin were acclaimed throughout the day with climax taking place at the Tuileries before their return to Versailles. With her fair skin, straw-blond hair, blue eyes, beautiful smile and majestic figure, people could not help but be charmed by the personality and beauty of the not yet 18-year-old princess. On the other hand, those opposed to the alliance with Austria, and others on personal grounds, such as the comtesse du Barry, Louis XV's mistress who had considerable political influence over the king, had a tenuous relationship with the Dauphine.^[33]

Relationship with Madame du Barry (1770-1774)

Marie Antoinette's relationship with Madame du Barry was politically important to improve, at least on the surface. The favourite had been instrumental in ousting the duc de Choiseul, who had helped orchestrate the Franco-Austrian alliance and Marie Antoinette's marriage.^[34] and, in spite of Marie-Antoinette's strong objection, in sending into exile, in 1770, one of her ladies-in-waiting, the duchesse de Gramont, sister of Choiseul. Under continued pressure from her mother and the comte de Mercy-Argenteau, the Austrian ambassador to France, who was sending Maria-Theresa secret reports on Marie-Antoinette's behavior, and in order to stop any French protest about the partition of Poland, the Dauphine grudgingly agreed to speak to Madame du Barry on New Year's Day 1772.^[35][36] Although the limit of the conversation was Marie Antoinette's banal comment to the royal mistress: "There are a lot of people at Versailles today", Madame du Barry was satisfied by her victory, and the crisis, for the most part, dissipated.^[37] Marie Antoinette never addressed a word to the comtesse again; however, in order to please the king, Mercy and the Dauphin occasionally visited Madame du Barry.

On 10 May 1774, Louis XV died. On May 12, his successor, Louis XVI, "under the influence of his pious aunts", and to the satisfaction of his wife^[38][39][40] exiled Madame du Barry to the abbaye de Pont-aux-Dames, in Meaux by lettre de cachet.^[41][42] Over the next two years, du Barry was allowed greater freedom but she was never allowed to return to Versailles.

Queen of France (1774-1791)

Early years (1774-1778)

On 11 June 1775, Louis XVI's coronation took place at the cathedral of Reims. Following the custom, Marie Antoinette was not crowned alongside him.^[43] Had she been crowned Queen of France, the ceremony would have taken place at the Basilica of Saint Denis.

At the outset, the new queen had limited political influence with her husband, who blocked several of her candidates, including Choiseul,^[44][45] from taking important positions, with the support of his two most important ministers, Chief Minister Maurepas and Foreign Minister Vergennes. However, the queen played a decisive role in the disgrace and exile of the most powerful of Louis XV ministers, the Duke of Aiguillon.^[46][47][48]

Opening the door to criticism in a time when the country was facing a grave financial crisis, and the population suffering from difficult economical conditions, as illustrated in the Flour War, a series of riots against the high price of flour and bread, which took place between April and May 1775, the queen went into the costly diversions of buying her dresses from Rose Bertin and gambling, with the result that (with the help of the libelles) her image began to tarnish and, with time, public opinion saw no major difference between her and the favourites of the previous kings.

For formal occasions, the queen adopted hair styles, the pouf and the panache (bundle of feathers) created by Rose Bertin, and the wearing of high heels which added at least a foot to her height. She became a fashion model to the ladies at court and in Parisian high society.

Marie Antoinette was given free rein to renovate the Petit Trianon, a gift to her by Louis XVI on 15 August 1774;^[49] With the "English garden", she and her court adopted the English dress of indienne, of percale or muslin.^[50] The Petit Trianon became associated with the young queen's perceived extravagance, and soon rumours circulated that she plastered the walls with gold and diamonds.^[51] In her memoirs, Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan, her lady-in-waiting, defended Marie Antoinette's reputation and her taste for simplicity.^[52]

As early as 1774, Marie Antoinette began to befriend a few male admirers, such as the baron de Besenval, the duc de Coigny, and the Count Valentin Esterházy.,^[53][54] and formed deep friendships with various ladies at court. Most noted was Marie-Louise, princesse de Lamballe, related to the royal family through her marriage into the Penthièvre family. On 19 September 1774, she appointed her Superintendent of her Household,^[55][56] a charge she soon gave to her new favourite, the duchesse de Polignac.

In 1774, she took under her patronage her former music teacher, the German composer of operas Christoph Willibald Gluck, who remained in France until 1779.^[57][58]

Motherhood, changes at court, intervention in politics (1778-1781)

Amidst the atmosphere of a wave of libelles, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph came to France incognito, under the name comte de Falkenstein, for a six-week visit during which he toured Paris extensively and was a simple guest at Versailles. He met his sister and her husband on 18 April 1777 at the château de la Muette, and spoke frankly to his brother-in-law, curious as to why the royal marriage had not been consummated, arriving at the conclusion that no obstacle to the couple's conjugal relations existed, save the queen's lack of interest and the king's unwillingness to exert himself in that arena.^[59] In a letter to his brother Leopold, Joseph graphically described them as "a couple of complete blunderers."^[60] Due to Joseph's intervention, the marriage was finally consummated in August 1777.^[61] Eight months later, in April 1778, it was suspected that the queen was pregnant, which was officially announced the following May 16.^[62] Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, Madame Royale, was born at Versailles on 19 December 1778.^[9][63][64] The child's paternity was contested in the libelles.^[65]

In the middle of the queen's pregnancy, two events occurred which had a profound impact on her later life: the return of Count Axel von Fersen to Versailles for two years, and her brother's claims on the throne of Bavaria.^[66] Marie Antoinette pleaded with her husband for the French to help intercede on behalf of Austria. The Peace of Teschen, signed on 13 May 1779, ended the brief conflict, with the queen imposing French mediation on the demand of her mother, and Austria's gaining a territory of at least 100,000 inhabitants - a strong retreat from the early French position which was hostile towards Austria with the impression, partially justified, that the queen sided with Austria against France .^[67][68]

Meanwhile, the queen began to institute changes in the customs practiced at court. Some changes were met with disapproval from the older generation, such as the abandonment of heavy make-up and the popular wide-hooped panniers. The new fashion called for a more simple feminine look, typified first by the rustic robe à la polonaise and later by the gaulle, a simple muslin dress Marie Antoinette wore in a 1783 Vigée-Le Brun portrait.^[69] She also began to participate in amateur plays and musicals, starting in 1780, in a theatre built for her by Mique at the Petit Trianon.^[70]

Repayment of the French debt remained a difficult problem, further exacerbated by Vergennes and also Marie Antoinette's prodding Louis XVI to involve France in Great Britain's war with its North American colonies: the queen played a very important role in supporting the American Revolution by securing Austrian and Russian support for France which resulted in the establishment of a neutral league which stopped England's attack, and by weighing in decisively for the nomination of Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur, as Minister of War and Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries, Secretary of the Navy in 1780, who helped George Washington in defeating the British in the American Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783.^[71]

In 1783, the queen played a decisive role in the nomination of Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a close friend of the Polignacs, as Controller-General of Finances, and of the baron de Breteuil as the Minister for the Maison du Roi (Minister of the Royal Household), making him perhaps the strongest and most conservative minister of the reign. The result of these two nominations was that Marie Antoinette's influence became paramount in government and the new ministers rejected any major change to the structure of the old regime. More than that, the decree by de Ségur, the minister of war, requiring four quarterings of nobility as a condition for the appointment of officers, blocked the access of commoners to important positions in the armed forces, posing the concept of equality one of the main grievances and causes of the French Revolution.^[72][73]

Empress Maria Theresa died on 29 November 1780 in Vienna. Marie Antoinette feared that the death of her mother would jeopardise the Franco-Austrian alliance (as well as, ultimately, herself), but her brother, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, wrote to her that he had no intention of breaking the alliance.

Marie Antoinette's second pregnancy was confirmed in March 1781. On 22 October 1781, she gave birth to Louis Joseph Xavier François, Dauphin of France.

A second visit from Joseph II, which had taken place in July 1781, to reaffirm the Franco-Austrian alliance and also to see his sister again, was tainted with rumours that Marie Antoinette was siphoning treasury money to him.^[74][75]

Declining popularity (1782-1785)

Despite the general celebration over the birth of the Dauphin, Marie Antoinette's political influence, such as it was, did greatly benefit Austria.^[76] During the Kettle War, in which her brother Joseph attempted to open the Scheldt River for naval passage; Marie Antoinette succeeded in obliging Vergennes to pay a huge financial compensation to Austria. Finally, the queen was able to obtain her brother's support against Great Britain in the American Revolution and she neutralized French hostility to his alliance with Russia.^[77][78]

In 1782, after the governess of the Enfants de France, the princesse de Guéméné, went bankrupt and resigned, Marie Antoinette appointed her favourite, the duchesse de Polignac, to the position.^[79] This decision met with disapproval from the court, as the duchess was considered to be of too modest a birth to occupy such an exalted position. On the other hand, both the king and the queen trusted Mme de Polignac completely, gave her thirteen-room apartment in Versailles and paid her well.^[80] The entire Polignac family benefited greatly from the royal favour in titles and positions, but its sudden wealth and lavish lifestyle outraged most aristocratic families who resented the Polignacs' dominance at court, and also fueled the increasing popular disapprobation toward Marie Antoinette, mostly in Paris.^[81] Mercy wrote to the Empress:"It is almost unexampled that in so short a time, the royal favour should have brought such overwhelming advantages to a family".^[82]

In June 1783, Marie Antoinette's new pregnancy was announced; however, on the night of 1–2 November, her 28th birthday, she suffered a miscarriage.

After his return from America in June 1783, Fersen was accepted into the queen's private society. Because of their obvious strong attraction to each other, it has been (and still is) strongly debated whether the two were romantically involved; but, since most of the correspondence between the two has been either lost or destroyed, there is no conclusive evidence that they were.^[83] Recent studies by British author Evelyn Farr suggests that not only were Fersen and the Queen lovers, but also that her two children were, in fact, fathered by the Swedish diplomat. ^[84]

In 1783, the queen was busy with the creation of her hameau, built by her favoured architect, Richard Mique, according to the designs of the painter Hubert Robert.^[85] Its creation, however, caused another uproar when its cost was known.^[86][87]

Marie Antoinette liked reading history books. She supported scientific endeavours, encouraging and witnessing the first launch of a hot air balloon (Montgolfière), technology that would render a major future service to humanity.^[88] There were 5000 books in her library, those on music, often dedicated to her, being the most read.^[89][90] She was able to write in imperfect English to her friend, the Duchess of Devonshire.^[91] An accomplished musician, the queen sponsored the arts, in particular music.

By 1784, it had become obvious that the sickly Dauphin would not reach adulthood.^[83]

On 27 April 1784, Beaumarchais's play The Marriage of Figaro premiered in Paris. After initially having been banned by the king due to its negative portrayal of the nobility, the play was ironically finally allowed to be publicly performed because of the queen's support and its overwhelming popularity at court, where secret readings of it had been given by Marie Antoinette. The play was a disaster for the image of the monarchy and aristocracy. It did inspire Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, which premiered in Vienna on 1 May 1786.^[92]

In August 1784, the queen's fourth pregnancy was announced.

On 24 October of that year, putting the baron de Breteuil in charge of its acquisition, Louis XVI bought the Château de Saint-Cloud from the duc d'Orléans, in the name of his wife. This was unpopular, particularly with some factions of the nobility who disliked the queen, but also with a growing percentage of the population who disapproved of a Queen of France owning her private residence independently of the king; thus, the purchase of Saint-Cloud contributed to damage the image of the queen even further in the public opinion. The château's expensive price, almost 6 million livres, plus the substantial extra cost of redecorating it, ensured that there was much less money going towards repaying France's substantial debt.^[93][94]

Prelude to the Revolution: Scandals and the failure of Reforms (1786-1789)

On 27 March 1785, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a second son, Louis Charles, who bore the title of Duke of Normandy.^[95] The fact that the birth occurred exactly nine months after Fersen's return did not escape the attention of many, leading to doubt as to the parentage of the child, and to a noticeable decline of the queen's reputation in public opinion.^[96] However, the majority of Marie-Antoinette's and Louis XVII's biographers believe that the young prince was the biological son of Louis XVI, even Stefan Zweig and Antonia Fraser, who believe that Fersen and Marie Antoinette were romantically involved.^{[97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104]} Courtiers at Versailles noted in their diaries that the date of the child's conception in fact corresponded perfectly with a period when the king and the queen had spent a lot of time together, but these details were ignored amid attacks on the queen's character.^[105] These suspicions of illegitimacy, along with the continued publication of the libelles, and never-ending cavalcades of court intrigues, the actions of Joseph II in the Kettle War, the purchase of Saint-Cloud and the Diamond Necklace scandal combined to turn popular opinion sharply against the queen, and the image of a licentious, spendthrift, empty-headed foreign queen was quickly taking root in the French psyche.^[106]

A second daughter, Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrice, Madame Sophie, was born on 9 July 1786. She died on 19 June 1787, before reaching her first year, and was Marie Antoinette's last child.

The diamond necklace scandal

Marie-Antoinette began to abandon her more carefree activities to become increasingly involved in politics in her role as "Queen of France".^[107] By showing to the public her attention to the education and care of her children, the queen sought to improve the dissolute image she had acquired in 1785 from the "Diamond Necklace Affair", in which public opinion had falsely accused her of criminal participation in defrauding the jewelers Boehmer and Bassenge of the cost of a very expensive diamond necklace they had created originally for Madame du Barry. The main actors of the scandal were the Cardinal de Rohan, prince de Rohan-Guéméné, Great Almoner of France, and Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, comtesse de La Motte, a descendant of an illegitimate child of Henry II of France of the House of Valois. Marie Antoinette had a profound dislike for Rohan since the time he had been the French ambassador to Vienna when she was a child. In spite of his high clerical position at the Court, she never addressed a word to him. Others involved were Nicole le Guay d'Oliva, a prostitute who happened to be a lookalike of Marie Antoinette, Rétaux de Villette, a forger, Alessandro Cagliostro, an Italian adventurer, and the comte de La Motte, Jeanne de Valois' husband. Mme de La Motte tricked Rohan into buying the necklace as a gift to Marie-Antoinette, in order for him to get into the favors of the queen. When the affair was discovered, those involved (except de La Motte and Réaux de Villette who managed to flee) were arrested, tried, convicted and either imprisoned or exiled. The only one imprisoned was Mme de La Motte, who was given a life sentence to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, which also served as a prison for women. Judged by the Parlement, Rohan was found innocent of any wrongdoing (which he was), and allowed to leave the Bastille. Marie Antoinette, who had insisted on the arrest of the Cardinal was dealt a heavy personal blow, as was the monarchy, and in spite of the fact that the guilty ones were tried and convicted, the affair proved to be extremely damaging to her reputation, which never recovered from it.

Failure of political and financial reforms

Suffering from an acute case of depression, the king began to seek the advice of his wife. In her new role and with increasing degree of power as a politically viable entity, the queen tried to help the situation brewing between the assembly and the king.^[108] This change of the queen's political position signalled the end of the Polignacs' influence and their impact on the finances of the Crown.

Continuing deterioration of the financial situation, despite cutbacks to the royal retinue and court expenses, ultimately forced the king, the queen and the Minister of Finance, Calonne, at the urging of Vergennes, to call the Assembly of Notables, after a hiatus of 160 years. The assembly was held to attempt passing necessary financial reforms, but the Parlements refused to cooperate. The first meeting took place on 22 February 1787, (nine days after the death of Vergennes on 13 February). Marie Antoinette did not attend the meeting and her absence resulted in accusations that the queen was trying to undermine its purpose.^[109][110] The Assembly was a failure: it did not pass any reforms and, instead, fell into the pattern of defying the king. On the urging of the queen, Louis XVI dismissed Calonne on 8 April 1787.^[108]

On 1 May 1787, Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne, the archbishop of Toulouse and one of the queen's political allies, was appointed by the king, on Marie Antoinette's urging, to replace Calonne, first as the Controller-General of Finances and then as Prime Minister. He began to institute more cutbacks at court, while trying to restore the royal absolute power weakened by parliaments.^[111] Brienne, though, was not able to improve the financial situation, and since he was the queen's ally, this failure adversely affected her political position. The continued poor financial climate of the country resulted in the 25 May dissolution of the Assembly of Notables because of its inability to get things done, and the lack of solutions was blamed on the queen.^[112]

France's financial problems were the result of a combination of factors: several expensive wars; a large royal family whose expenditures were paid for by the state; and an unwillingness on the part of most members of the privileged classes, aristocracy and clergy, to help defray the costs of the government out of their own pockets by relinquishing some of their financial privileges. As a result of the public perception that she had single-handedly ruined the national finances, Marie Antoinette was given the nickname of "Madame Déficit" in the summer of 1787.^[113] While sole fault for the financial crisis did not lie with her, Marie Antoinette was the biggest obstacle to any major reform effort. She had played a decisive role in the disgrace of the reformer Ministers of Finance, Turgot (in 1776), and Jacques Necker (first dismissal in 1781). If the secret expenses of the queen were taken into account, the expense of the court was much higher than the official estimate of 7% of the state budget.^[114]

The queen attempted to fight back with propaganda portraying her as a caring mother, most notably in the painting by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun exhibited at the Royal Académie Salon de Paris in August 1787, showing her with her children.^[115][116] Around the same time, Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy escaped from prison and fled to London, where she published damaging slander concerning her supposed amorous affair with the queen.^[117]

The political situation in 1787 worsened when, on Marie Antoinette's urging, on 15 August the Parlement was exiled in Troyes. It further deteriorated when Louis XVI tried to use a lit de justice on 11 November to impose legislation. The new duc d'Orléans publicly protested the king's actions, and was subsequently exiled to his estate at Villers-Cotterêts.^[118] The May Edicts issued on 8 May 1788 were also opposed by the public and parliaments. Finally, on 8 August, Louis XVI announced his intention to bring back the Estates General, the traditional elected legislature of the country, which had not been convened since 1614.^[119]

While from late 1787 up to his death in June 1789, Marie-Antoinette's primary concern was the continued deterioration of the health of the Dauphin, who suffered from tuberculosis,^[120] she was directly involved with the exile of the Parlement, the May Edicts and the announcement regarding the Estates General; she did participate in the King Council, the first queen to do this in over 175 years (since Marie de' Medici had been named Chef du Conseil du Roi, between 1614 and 1617), and she was making the major decisions behind the scene and in the King Council.

Marie Antoinette was instrumental in the recall of Jacques Necker as Finance Minister on 26 August, a popular move, even though she herself was worried that the recall would again go against her if Necker proved unsuccessful in reforming the country's finances, and she accepted Necker's proposition to double the representation of the Tiers État in an attempt to check the power of the aristocracy^[121][122]

On the eve of the opening of the Estates General, the queen attended the mass celebrating its return. From time of its very opening on 5 May 1789, the fracture between the democratic Third Estate (consisting of bourgeois and radical aristocrats), and the conservative nobility of the Second Estate widened, and Marie Antoinette knew that her rival, the duc d'Orléans, who had given money and bread to the people during the winter, would be acclaimed by the crowd, much to her detriment.^[123]

The death of the Dauphin on 4 June, which deeply affected his parents, was virtually ignored by the French people,^[124] who were instead preparing for the next meeting of the Estates General and hoping for a resolution to the bread crisis. As the Third Estate declared itself a National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath, and as people either spread or believed rumors that the queen wished to bathe in their blood, Marie Antoinette went into mourning for her eldest son.^[125] Her role was decisive in urging the king to remain firm and to not concede to popular demands for reforms. In addition, she was showing her determination to use force to crush the forthcoming revolution.^[126][127]

The French Revolution before Varennes (1789-1791)

The situation escalated on 20 June as the Third Estate, which had been joined by several members of the clergy and radical nobility, found the door to its appointed meeting place closed by order of the king. It thus met at the tennis court in Versailles and took the Tennis Court Oath not to separate before it had given a constitution to the nation.

On 11 July, on Marie Antoinette's urging, Necker was dismissed to be replaced by Breteuil, the queen's choice to crush the Revolution with mercenary Swiss troops under the command of one of her favorites, Pierre Victor, baron de Besenval de Brünstatt.^{[128][129][130]} At the news, Paris was besieged by riots which culminated in the storming of the Bastille on 14 July,^[131][132] and on 15 July Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette was named commander-in-chief of the newly formed Garde nationale.^[133][134]

In the days following the storming of the Bastille, for fear of assassination, and ordered by the king, the emigration of members of the high aristocracy began, with the departure of the comte d'Artois, the Condés, cousins of the king,^[135] and the unpopular Polignacs on 17 July. Marie Antoinette, whose life was as much in danger, remained by the king whose power was gradually being taken away by the National Constituent Assembly.^{[133][136][137]}

The abolition of feudal privileges by the National Constituent Assembly on 4 August 1789, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (La Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen), drafted by La Fayette with the help of Thomas Jefferson, and adopted on 26 August, led the way to the Constitutional Monarchy (4 September 1791 – 21 September 1792).^[138][139] In spite of these dramatic changes, life at court continued, while the situation in Paris was becoming critical because of bread shortage in September. On 5 October, a crowd from Paris descended upon Versailles and forced the royal family, to move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, where they lived under a form of house arrest under the watch of La Fayette's Garde nationale, while the comte de Provence and his wife were allowed to reside in the Petit Luxembourg, where they remained until going into exile on 20 June 1791.^[140]

Marie Antoinette continued performing charitable functions, attending religious ceremonies, but mostly dedicated her time to her children.^[141] She also played an important political, albeit not public, role between 1789 and 1791, in which time she had a complex set of relationships with several key actors of the early period of the French Revolution. One of the most important was Necker, the "Prime Minister of Finances" (Premier ministre des finances).^[142] In spite of her dislike of him, she played a decisive role in his return to office; however, she blamed him for his supporting the Revolution, and did not regret his resignation in 1790.^[143][144]

La Fayette, one of the former military leaders in the American War of Independence (1775-1783), served as the warden of the royal family in his position as commander-in-chief of the Garde nationale. In spite of his dislike of the queen - he detested her as much as she detested him and, at one time, had even threatened sending her to a convent - he was persuaded by the mayor of Paris, Jean Sylvain Bailly, to work in collaboration with her, and even allowed her to see Fersen a number of times. He even went as far as exiling the Duke of Orléans, who was accused by the queen of fomenting trouble. His relation with the king was more cordial: being a liberal aristocrat, he did not want the fall of the monarchy but the establishment of a liberal one, similar to that of the United Kingdom, based on collaboration between the king and the people, as was to be defined in the Constitution of 1791.

Despite her attempts to remain out of the public eye, Marie Antoinette was falsely accused in the libelles of conducting an affair with La Fayette, whom she loathed,^[145] and, as was published in "Le Godmiché Royal" (translated, "The Royal Dildo"), on having a sexual relationship with the English Baroness 'Lady Sophie Farrell' of Bournemouth, a well-known lesbian of the time. Publication of such calumnies continued to the end, climaxing at her trial with that of incest with her son. There is no shred of evidence to support the accusations of her sexual depravity: Marie Antoinette was simply an easy target for gossip, which escalated to calumny.

Mirabeau

A significant achievement for Marie Antoinette in that period was the establishment of an alliance with Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, the most important lawmaker in the assembly. Like La Fayette, Mirabeau was a liberal aristocrat. He had joined the tiers état, and was not against the monarchy, but wanted to reconcile the monarchy with the Revolution. He also wanted to be a minister and was not immune to corruption. On the advice of Mercy, Marie Antoinette opened secret negotiations with him and both agreed to meet in secret at the château of Saint-Cloud on 3 July 1790, where the royal family was allowed to spend the summer, free of the radical elements who watched their every move in Paris.^[146][147] At the meeting, Mirabeau was much impressed by the queen, and remarked in a letter to the comte de La Marck that she was the only man the king had by him: La reine est le seul homme que le roi ait auprès de lui.^[148] A deal was reached turning Mirabeau into one of her political allies: Marie Antoinette promised to pay him 6000 livres per month and one million if he succeeded in his mission to restore the king's authority.^[149]

The only time the royal couple returned to Paris in that period was on 14 July, to attend the Fête de la Fédération, the official ceremony held at the Champ de Mars in commemoration of the fall of the Bastille one year earlier. At least 300,000 persons participated from all over France including 18,000 national guards, with Talleyrand, bishop of Autun, celebrating a mass at the autel de la patrie ("altar of the fatherland"). At the event, the king was greeted with loud cheers of "Long Live The King ", especially when he took the oath to protect the Nation and to enforce the laws voted by the Constitutional Assembly. There were even cheers to the queen, particularly when she presented the Dauphin to the public.^[150][151]

Mirabeau sincerely wanted to reconcile the queen with the people, and she was happy to see him restoring much of the king's powers, such as his authority over foreign policy, and the right to declare war. Over the objections of La Fayette and his allies, the king was given a suspensive veto allowing him to veto any laws for a period of four years. With time, Mirabeau would support the queen even more, going as far as to suggest Louis XVI "adjourn" to Rouen or Compiègne.^[152]However, this leverage with the Assembly ended with the death of Mirabeau in April 1791, in spite of the attempt of several moderate leaders of the Revolution to contact the queen in order to establish some kind of cooperation with her.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

In March 1791, Pope Pius VI had condemned the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, reluctantly signed by Louis XVI, which reduced the number of bishops from 132 to 93, imposed the election of bishops and all members of the clergy by departmental or district assemblies of electors, and finally reduced the Pope's authority over the Church. Religion played an important role in the life of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, both raised in the Roman Catholic faith. The queen's political ideas and her belief in the absolute power of monarchs were based on France's monarchy long established on the divine right of kings. On 18 April, as the royal family was ready to leave for Saint-Cloud to attend Easter mass celebrated by a refractory priest, a crowd, soon joined by the Garde nationale (disobeying La Fayette's orders), kept it from leaving Paris, and prompting Marie Antoinette to declare to La Fayette that she and her family were no longer free. This incident fortified her in her determination to leave Paris; however, both for affective and political reasons, not alone, but with her family, and even the king, who had been hesitant, accepted his wife's decision to flee with the help of foreign powers and counter revolutionary forces.^{[153][154][155]} Fersen and Breteuil (who represented her in the courts of Europe) were put in charge of the escape plan, while Marie Antoinette continued her negotiations with some moderate leaders of the French Revolution.^[156][157]

Flight, arrest at Varennes and return to Paris (21–25 June 1791)

There had been several plots designed to help the royal family escape, which the queen had rejected because she would not leave without the king, or which had ceased to be viable because of the king's indecision. Once Louis XVI finally did commit to a plan, its poor execution was the cause of its failure. In an elaborate attempt, known as the Flight to Varennes, to reach the royalist stronghold of Montmédy, some members of the royal family were to pose as the servants of (the imaginary) Mme de Korff, a wealthy Russian baroness, in the role held by Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel, governess of the royal children.

After many delays, the escape ultimately occurred on 21 June 1791, but the entire family was arrested twenty-four hours later at Varennes and taken back to Paris within a week. The escape attempt destroyed much of the remaining support of the population for the king^[158][159]

Upon learning of the capture of the royal family, the National Constituent Assembly sent three representatives, Antoine Barnave, Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve and Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg to Varennes to escort it back to Paris. Marie Antoinette and her family were jeered and insulted by the people as never before. The prestige of the French monarchy had never been at such a low level. During the trip, Barnave, the representative of the moderate party in the Assembly, protected Marie Antoinette from the crowds, and even Pétion took pity on the royal family. Brought safely back to Paris, it met a welcome of total silence from the crowd. Thanks to Barnave, the royal couple was not brought to trial and was publicly exonerated of any crime in relation with the attempted escape.^[160][161]

In the night of 21–22 June, the queen's hair had, according to Mme Campan, Marie Antoinette's first lady-of-the-bedchamber, "turned white as those of a seventy-year old woman." (En une seule nuit ils étaient devenus blancs comme ceux d'une femme de soixante-dix ans.)^[162]

Radicalization of the Revolution after Varennes (1791-1792)

After the return from Varennes, and until the storming of the Tuileries on 10 August 1792, the queen, her family and entourage were under the Garde nationale tight surveillance within the Tuileries, where the royal couple was guarded night and day. Four guards accompanied her wherever she went, and her bedroom door had to be left open at night. Her health also began to deteriorate, thus further reducing her physical activities.^[163][164]

On 17 July 1791, with the support of Barnave and his friends, La Fayette's Garde nationale opened fire on the crowd who had assembled on the Champ de Mars to sign a petition demanding the deposition of the king. The estimated number of killed varies between a dozen to fifty. La Fayette's reputation never recovered from the event and, on 8 October, he resigned as commander of the Garde nationale. Always refusing his help, Marie Antoinette played a decisive role in defeating him in his aims to become the mayor of Paris in November 1791.^[165]

As her correspondence shows, while Barnave was taking great political risks with the belief the queen was his political ally, and had managed, in spite of her unpopularity, to secure a moderate majority ready to work with her, Marie Antoinette was not sincere in her cooperation with the moderate leaders of the French Revolution, which ultimately voided any chance to establish a moderate government.^[166] Moreover, the view that the unpopular queen was controlling the king further degraded the royal couple's standing with the people, which the Jacobins successfully exploited after the return from Varennes to advance their radical agenda to abolish the monarchy.^[167] This situation lasted until the spring of 1792.^[168][169]

Marie Antoinette kept hoping that the military coalition of the European kingdoms would succeed in crushing the Revolution. She counted mostly on the support of her Austrian family. After the death of her brother Joseph in 1790, his successor, Leopold was willing to support her, but only to a limited degree. However, upon Leopold's death in 1792, his son, Francis, a conservative ruler, was ready to support the cause of the French royal couple because he feared the consequences of the French Revolution and its ideas on the monarchies of Europe and, more particularly, on Austria's influence in Europe.

Barnave had advised the queen to call back Mercy, who had played such an important role in her life prior to the Revolution, but Mercy had been appointed to another foreign diplomatic position and could not come back to France. At the end of 1791, ignoring the personal danger she faced, the princesse de Lamballe, who was in London, returned to the Tuileries. As for Fersen, in February 1792, in spite of the strong measures of restriction around her, he was able to see the queen a final time.^[170]

Events leading to the abolition of the monarchy on 10 August 1792 - Temple

Leopold's and Francis II's aggressive tendencies on Marie Antoinette's behalf led to France's declaration of war on Austria on 20 April 1792. This had for result the queen being viewed as an enemy, even though she was personally against Austrian claims to French territories on European soil. That summer, the situation was compounded by multiple defeats of the French armies by the Austrians, in part because Marie Antoinette passing of military secrets^[171] to Austria. In addition, at the insistence of his wife, Louis XVI vetoed several measures that would have further restricted his power, earning the royal couple the nicknames "Monsieur Veto" and "Madame Veto".^[172][173] nicknames then prominently featured in different contexts, including La Carmagnole.

Barnave remained the most important advisor and supporter of the queen, who was willing to work with him as long as he followed her demands, which he did to a large extent. Barnave and the moderates made up about 260 lawmakers in the new Legislative Assembly; the radicals numbered around 136, and the rest around 350. Initially, the majority was with Barnave, but the queen's policy led to the radicalization of the Assembly and the moderates lost control of the legislative process. The moderate government collapsed in April 1792 and was replaced by a radical majority headed by the Girondins. The Assembly then passed a series of laws concerning the Church, the aristocracy and the formation of new national guard units: all were vetoed by Louis XVI. While Barnave's section had fallen to 120 members, the new Girondin majority controlled the legislative assembly with 330 members. The two strongest members of that government were Jean Marie Roland, who was minister of interior, and General Dumouriez, the minister of foreign affairs. Dumouriez sympathised with the royal couple and wanted to save them; however, he was rebuffed by the queen.^[174][175]

Marie Antoinette's actions in refusing to collaborate with the Girondins, in power between April and June 1792, led the Girondins to denounce the treason of the Austrian comity, a direct allusion to the queen. After Madame Roland sent a letter to the king denouncing the queen's role in these matters, pushed by the queen, Louis XVI sacked the government, thus losing his majority in the Assembly. Dumouriez resigned and refused a post in any new government. At this point, the tide within the population and political parties against the royal authority intensified, while Marie Antoinette encouraged the king to veto the new laws voted by the Legislative Assembly in 1792.^[176] In August 1791, the Declaration of Pillnitz threatened to invade France. This led in turn to the French declaration of war in April 1792, which led to the French Revolutionary Wars and to the events of August 1792, which ended the monarchy.^[177]

On 20 June 1792, "a mob of terrifying aspect" broke into the Tuileries, made the king wear the bonnet rouge (red Phrygian cap) to show his loyalty to the Republic, insulted Marie Antoinette, accusing her of betraying France, and threatened her life. In consequence, the queen asked Fersen to push the foreign powers to activate their invasion of France, and to issue a manifesto in which the foreign powers threatened to destroy Paris if anything happened to the royal family. The Brunswick Manifesto issued on 25 July 1792 triggered the events of 10 August ^[178] when the approach of an armed mob on its way to the Tuileries Palace, forced the royal family to seek refuge at the Legislative Assembly. An hour and a half later, the palace was invaded by the mob, who massacred the Swiss Guards.^[179][180] On 13 August, the royal family was imprisoned in the tower of the Temple in the Marais under conditions considerably harsher than those of their previous confinement in the Tuileries.^[181]

A week later, several of the royal family's attendants, among them the princesse de Lamballe, were taken in for interrogation by the Paris Commune. Transferred to the La Force prison, after a rapid judgment, Marie Louise de Lamballe was savagely killed on 3 September. Her head was affixed on a pike and marched through the city to the Temple for the queen to see. Marie Antoinette was kept from seeing it, but fainted upon learning of it.^[182][183]

On 21 September 1792, the fall of the monarchy was officially declared, and the National Convention became the governing body of the French Republic. The royal family was re-styled as the non-royal "Capets". Preparations began for the trial of the king in a court of law.^[184]

Louis XVI's trial and execution

Charged with undermining the First French Republic, Louis XVI was separated from his family and tried in December. He was found guilty by the Convention led by the Jacobins who rejected the idea of keeping him as a hostage. On 15 January 1793, by vote with a majority of one voice, that of Philippe Égalité, he was condemned to death by guillotine and was executed on 21 January 1793.^[185][186]

Marie Antoinette in the Temple

The queen, now called "Widow Capet", plunged into deep mourning. She still hoped her son, Louis XVII, whom the comte de Provence had, from exile, recognised as Louis XVI's successor, would one day rule France. The royalists and the refractory clergy, including those preparing the insurrection in Vendée, supported Marie Antoinette and the return to the monarchy. Throughout her imprisonment and up to her execution, Marie-Antoinette could count on the sympathy of conservative factions and social-religious groups which had turned against the Revolution, and also on wealthy individuals ready to corrupt republican officials in order to facilitate her escape;^[187] however, all plots failed. Prisoners in the tower of the Temple, Marie Antoinette, her children and Élisabeth were insulted, some of the guards going as far as smoking in the ex-queen's face. Strict security measures were taken to assure that Marie Antoinette was not able to communicate with the outside world; but, in spite of these measures, several of the guardians were opened to corruption, and a line of communication was kept with the outer world.

After Louis' execution, Marie Antoinette's fate became a central question of the National Convention. While some advocated for her death, others proposed exchanging her for French prisoners of war or for a ransom from the Holy Roman Emperor. Thomas Paine advocated exile to America.^[188] In April 1793, during the Reign of Terror, a Committee of Public Safety dominated by Robespierre was formed, and men such as Jacques Hébert began to call for Antoinette's trial. By the end of May, the Girondins had been chased from power.^[189] Calls were also made to "retrain" the eight-year old Louis XVII, to make him pliant to revolutionary ideas. To carry this out, Louis Charles was separated from his mother on 3 July after a heartwrenching struggle during which his mother fought in vain to retain her son, who was handed to Antoine Simon, a cobbler, and representative of the Paris Commune. Until her removal from the Temple, Marie Antoinette spent hours trying to catch a glimpse of her son, who, within weeks, had been made to turn against her, accusing his mother of wrongdoings.^[190]

Conciergerie

In the night of 1 August, at 1:00 in the morning, Marie Antoinette was transferred from the Temple to an isolated cell in the Conciergerie as 'Prisoner n° 280'. Leaving the tower without bending, she banged her head against the lintel of the door, which prompted one of her guards to ask her if she was hurt, to which she answered: "No! Nothing now can hurt me."^[191] This was the most difficult period of her captivity. She was under constant surveillance, with no privacy. The "Carnation Plot" (Le complot de l'œillet), an attempt to help her escape at the end of August, was foiled due to the inability to corrupt all the guards.^[192] She was attended by Rosalie Lamorlière, who cared for her as much as and as well as she could. At least once, she received the visit of a Catholic priest.^[193][194]

Trial and execution (14–16 October 1793)

Marie Antoinette was tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal on 14 October 1793.

Some historians believe the outcome of the trial had been decided in advance by the Committee of Public Safety around the time the Carnation Plot was uncovered.^[195] She and her lawyers were given less than one day to prepare her defence. Among the accusations, many previously published in the libelles, were: orchestrating orgies in Versailles, sending millions of livres of treasury money to Austria, planning the massacre of the "gardes françaises" (National Guards) in 1792,^[196] declaring her son to be the new king of France, and—by her son Louis Charles himself (pushed by radical elements who controlled him)—of incest. This last accusation drew an emotional response from Marie Antoinette, who refused to respond to this charge and, instead, called on all mothers present in the room: their reaction brought her comfort since these women were not sympathetic to her.^[197][198]

Early on 16 October, Marie Antoinette was declared guilty of the three main charges against her: depletion of the national treasury, conspiracy against the internal and external security of the State, intelligence with the enemy, this one alone being enough to condemn her to death.^[199] At worst, she and her lawyers had expected life imprisonment.^[200] In the hours left to her, she composed a letter to her sister-in-law, Madame Élisabeth, affirming her clear conscience, her Catholic faith, and her love and concern for her children. The letter did not reach Élisabeth.^[201] Preparing for her execution, she had to change clothes in front of her guards. She put on a plain white dress, white being the color worn by widowed queens of France. Her hair was shorn, her hands bound painfully behind her back and she was leashed with a rope. Unlike her husband, who had been taken to his execution in a carriage, she had to sit in an open cart. In the hour-long trip from the Conciergerie via the rue Saint-Honoré thoroughfare to the guillotine erected Place de la Révolution, (present-day Place de la Concorde), she maintained her composure, in spite of the insults of the jeering crowd calling her Autrichienne (Autrichienne referring to her Austrian ethnicity, while chienne in French is a female dog: bitch). Some in the crowd remained silent.^[202][203] For her final confession, a constitutional priest was assigned to her. He sat by her in the cart, and she ignored him all the way to the scaffold.^[204][205]

Marie Antoinette was guillotined at 12:15 p.m. on 16 October 1793.^[206][207] Her last words were "Pardon me, sir, I meant not to do it", to Henri Sanson the executioner, whose foot she had accidentally stepped on after climbing to the scaffold. Her body was thrown into an unmarked grave in the Madeleine cemetery located close by, rue d'Anjou. Because of saturation, the cemetery was closed the following year, on 25 March 1794.^[208]

Both Marie Antoinette's and Louis XVI's bodies were exhumed on 18 January 1815, during the Bourbon Restoration, when the comte de Provence had ascended the newly reestablished throne as Louis XVIII, King of France and Navarre. Christian burial of the royal remains took place three days later, on 21 January, in the necropolis of French kings at the Basilica of St Denis.^[209]

Legacy

Long after her death, Marie Antoinette remains a major historical figure linked with conservatism, the Catholic Church, wealth, and fashion. She has been the subject of a quantity of books, films and other forms of media. Politically engaged authors have deemed her the quintessential representative of class conflict, western aristocracy and absolutism. Some of her contemporaries, such as Jefferson, attributed to her the start of the French Revolution.^[210] For others, Marie Antoinette was a victim of her family ambition and the general situation in France. However, even her critics have recognized her qualities as a mother and her courage in dying.

In popular culture

The phrase "Let them eat cake" is often attributed to Marie Antoinette, but there is no evidence she ever uttered it, and it is now generally regarded as a "journalistic cliché".^[211] This phrase originally appeared in Book VI of the first part (finished in 1767, published in 1782) of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's putative autobiographical work, Les Confessions: "Enfin je me rappelai le pis-aller d'une grande princesse à qui l'on disait que les paysans n'avaient pas de pain, et qui répondit: Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" ("Finally I recalled the stopgap solution of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread, and who responded: 'Let them eat brioche'"). Apart from the fact that Rousseau ascribes these words to an unknown princess, vaguely referred to as a "great princess", the purported writing date precedes Marie Antoinette's arrival in France. Some think that he invented it altogether.^[212]

In the United States, expressions of gratitude to France for its help in the American Revolution included the naming of the city of Marietta, Ohio, founded in 1788. The Ohio Company of Associates chose the name Marietta after an affectionate nickname for Marie Antoinette.^[213]

Titles from birth to death

• 2 November 1755 – 19 April 1770: Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, Princess of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
• 19 April 1770 – 10 May 1774: Her Royal Highness The Dauphine of France, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
• 10 May 1774 – 14 September 1791: Her Most Christian Majesty The Queen of France and Navarre
• 14 September 1791 – 21 September 1792: Her Majesty The Queen of the French

Ancestry

Ancestors of Marie Antoinette

16. Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine               8. Charles V, Duke of Lorraine                       17. Claude Françoise of Lorraine               4. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine                             18. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor               9. Eleonora Maria of Austria                       19. Eleanor Gonzaga               2. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor                                   20. Louis XIII of France               10. Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans                       21. Anne of Austria               5. Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans                             22. Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine               11. Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate                       23. Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel               1. Marie Antoinette                                         24. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (= 18)               12. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor                       25. Maria Anna of Spain               6. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor                             26. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine               13. Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg                       27. Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt               3. Maria Theresa of Austria                                   28. Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               14. Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                       29. Duchess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg               7. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                             30. Albert Ernest I, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen               15. Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen                       31. Duchess Christine Frederica of Württemburg

See also

• French Revolution

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marie Antoinette of Austria.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Marie Antoinette

• "Marie Antionette" in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Story of Marie Antoinette with Primary Sources
• Find A Grave
• Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution - Lyons Press page
• Marie Antoinette's official Versailles profile
• Marie Antoinette Online—A site with a sympathetic bend, and contains a great deal of information.
• The marais of Marie-Antoinette sur parismarais.com
• Tea At Trianon—Many articles on all things Antoinette, from Versailles to Trianon to the most obscure details of life in Royal France, by historian and author Elena Maria Vidal.
•  "Marie Antoinette". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• Online catalog of Marie Antoinette's personal reading library from the Petit-Trianon palace, based on 1863 printed catalog, online at LibraryThing.
• If they have no bread, let them eat cake.
• 2015 Irish Examiner article

Articles and topics related to Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette House of Habsburg-Lorraine Born: 2 November 1755 Died: 16 October 1793 French royalty Vacant Title last held by Marie Leszczyńska Queen consort of France and Navarre 10 May 1774 – 4 September 1791 Herself as Queen of the French Herself as Queen of France Queen consort of the French 4 September 1791 – 10 August 1792 Vacant Monarchy abolished Title next held by Joséphine de Beauharnais as Empress of the French Titles in pretence Loss of title Republic declared — TITULAR — Queen consort of France and Navarre/ Queen consort of the French 4 September 1791 – 21 January 1793 Vacant Title next held by Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy Notes and references 1. Weber, Caroline. Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006. 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Archduchess Theresia Maria Josepha Eleanor, Queen of Poland, Duchess of Lorraine Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress Maria Anna Josepha, Electoral Princess of the Palatinate Archduchess Maria Ambrosia de la Concepción* Archduchess Maria Magdalena 9th generation Maria Antonia, Electress of Bavaria Archduchess Maria Anna Antonia Archduchess Anna Maria Archduchess Maria Josepha Archduchess Christina Archduchess Maria Elisabeth Maria Anna, Queen of Portugal Archduchess Maria Theresa Archduchess Maria Josepha Archduchess Maria Magdalena Archduchess Maria Margaretha 10th generation Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa Maria Anna, Princess Charles Alexander of Lorraine Archduchess Maria Amalia 11th generation Archduchess Maria Elisabeth** Archduchess Maria Anna** Archduchess Maria Carolina** Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen** Archduchess Maria Elisabeth** Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma** Archduchess Maria Carolina** Archduchess Johanna** Archduchess Maria Josepha** Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples** Marie Antonia, Queen of France** 12th generation Archduchess Maria Theresa Archduchess Marie Christine Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony** Archduchess Maria Anna** Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia*** Archduchess Maria Josepha*** Maria Leopoldine, Electress of Bavaria*** Maria Clementina, Hereditary Princess of Naples** Archduchess Maria Amalia** Archduchess Maria Antonia*** Maria Ludovika, Empress of Austria*** 13th generation Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth Marie Louise, Empress of the French Archduchess Carolina Ferdinande** Archduchess Maria Caroline Archduchess Caroline Ludovika Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil Clementina, Princess of Salerno Archduchess Maria Luisa** Archduchess Alexandrine Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia** Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony Archduchess Maria Anna Archduchess Amalia Theresa Maria Theresa, Queen of the Two Sicilies Maria Theresa, Countess of Chambord*** Archduchess Hermine Archduchess Franziska Archduchess Maria Caroline Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia Maria Beatrix, Countess of Montizón*** Archduchess Maria Caroline Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians 14th generation Archduchess Maria Anna Archduchess Maria Carolina** Auguste Ferdinande, Princess Luitpold of Bavaria** Archduchess Maria Maximiliana** Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani** Archduchess Maria Theresia** Archduchess Maria Cristina** Archduchess Maria Anna** Maria Theresa, Duchess Philipp of Württemberg Archduchess Mathilda Maria Christina, Queen of Spain Archduchess Maria Eleonora Archduchess Elisabeth Maria Dorothea, Duchess of Orléans Margaretha Klementine, Princess of Thurn and Taxis Archduchess Elisabeth Henriette Archduchess Klotilde Maria Theresa, Queen of Bavaria*** 15th generation Archduchess Sophie Gisela, Princess Leopold of Bavaria Archduchess Marie Valerie Margarete Sophie, Duchess of Württemberg Archduchess Maria Annunziata Elisabeth, Princess Aloys of Liechtenstein Archduchess Maria Antonietta** Luise, Crown Princess of Saxony** Anna, Princess of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein** Archduchess Margareta** Archduchess Germana** Archduchess Agnes** Archduchess Maria Theresa** Karoline Marie, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha** Archduchess Maria Antonietta** Maria Immaculata, Duchess of Württemberg** Archduchess Henriette** Maria Christina, Princess Emmanuel of Salm-Salm Maria Anna, Princess Elias of Bourbon Parma Maria Henrietta, Princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst Archduchess Natalie Archduchess Stephanie Archduchess Gabrielle Isabella, Princess Georg of Bavaria Alice, Baroness Waldbott of Bassenheim Archduchess Eleonora, Mrs. Alfons von Kloss Renata, Princess Hieronymus Radziwill Mechthildis, Princess Olgierd Czartoryski Archduchess Gisele Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Magdalena 16th generation Elisabeth Marie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz Helena, Duchess Philipp of Württemberg** Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg** Archduchess Dolores** Maria Inmaculada, Nobile Inigo Neri Sereneri** Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio** Princess Maria Antonia, Mrs. Luis Pérez** Archduchess Assunta, Mrs. Joseph Hopfinger** Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil** Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg** Gertrud, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg** Archduchess Maria Elisabeth** Archduchess Agnes** Archduchess Margarethe, Mrs. Alexander Cech Ilona, Duchess of Mecklenburg Archduchess Anna Theresia Archduchess Maria Kynga, Mrs. Joachim Krist 17th generation Descent of Charles I : Archduchess Adelheid Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg Elisabeth, Princess Heinrich of Liechtenstein Tuscany : Elisabeth, Edle Hubert von Braun** Alice, Baroness Vittorio Manno** Marie Antoinette, Baroness of Proff in Irnich** Archduchess Marie Christine** Archduchess Walburga, Mrs. Carlos Tasso** Archduchess Verena** Archduchess Katharina, Mrs. Roland Huber** Agnes, Baroness Peter of Fürstenberg** Maria Ileana, Countess Adam Kottulinski** Alexandra, Baroness Viktor of Baillou** Maria Magdalena, Baroness of Holzhausen** Archduchess Elisabeth, Mrs. Friedrich Sandhofer** Agnes, Princess Karl Alfred of Liechtenstein** Archduchess Maria Margaretha** Archduchess Ludovica** Archduchess Allix** Josepha, Countess Clemens of Waldstein-Wartenberg** Valerie, Margravine of Baden** Alberta, Baroness Alexander of Kottwitz-Erdödy** Theresa, Princess Rasso of Bavaria** Maria Inmakulata, Countess Reinhart of Hoensbroech** Palatines : Archduchess Monika, Mrs. Charles de Rambures Archduchess Marie Christine, Mrs. Raymond van der Meide Archduchess Maria, Mrs. Wilhelm de Witt Margherita, Countess Benedikt of Piatti 18th generation Descent of Charles I : Andrea, Hereditary Countess of Neipperg Monika, Duchess of Maqueda Michaela, Countess Hubertus of Kageneck Archduchess Gabriela, Mrs. Christian Meister Walburga, Countess Archibald Douglas Maria Beatrix, Countess Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg*** Isabella, Countess Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi*** Maria del Pilar, Edle Vollrad-Joachim von Poschinger Kinga, Baroness Wolfgang of Erffa Archduchess Marie Adelheid, Mrs. Jaime Corcuerra Archduchess Viridis, Mrs. Karl Dunning-Gribble Archduchess Alexandra, Mrs. Héctor Riesle Maria Constanza, Princess of Auersperg-Trautson Maria Anna, Princess Peter Galitzine Catharina, Countess Maximiliano Secco d'Aragona Descent of Maximilian : Archduchess Elisabeth, Mrs. James Litchfield Sophie, Princess of Windisch-Grätz Archduchess Marie Christine, Mrs. Clemens Guggenberg Tuscany : Archduchess Marie Bernadette, Mrs. Rupert Wolff** Archduchess Katharina, Mrs. Niall Brooks** Archduchess Alicia** Archduchess Maria Christina** Archduchess Margaretha, Mrs. Andreas Baumgartner** Archduchess Marie Valerie, Mrs. Martin Josef Wagner** Archduchess Hedwig** Archduchess Veronika** Palatines : Archduchess Johanna Archduchess Elisabeth Archduchess Celina Archduchess Maria Floriana Archduchess Sofía Archduchess Anna Carolina Archduchess Theresa Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Ladislaya 19th generation Descent of Charles I : Archduchess Eleonore Archduchess Gloria Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Hilda Archduchess Maria Laura***° Archduchess Luisa Maria***° Archduchess Laetitia Maria***° Archduchess Helen*** Archduchess Sophia Archduchess Maria Theresa Archduchess Margherite Archduchess Priscilla Archduchess Marie des Neiges Marie Christine, Countess Rodolphe of Limburg-Stirum Archduchess Gabriella Archduchess Antonia Archduchess Isabelle Archduchess Carlotta Descent of Maximilian : Archduchess Katharina Archduchess Amaya Archduchess Paulina Archduchess Lara Archduchess Leonie Tuscany : Archduchess Tatyana** Archduchess Anabella** Archduchess Tara** Archduchess Valentina** 20th generation Descent of Charles I : Archduchess Zita Archduchess Anežka Archduchess Anna Archduchess Maria Stella * also an infanta of Spain ** also a princess of Tuscany *** also a princess of Modena ° also a princess of Belgium Tuscan princesses by birth 1st generation Princess Maria Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara Princess Maria Virginia, Duchess of Modena^ 2nd generation Eleonora, Duchess of Mantua Princess Rommola Princess Anna Princess Isabella Princess Lucrezia Marie, Queen of France Princess Eleonora Princess Caterina Princess Maria Maddalena Claudia, Archduchess of Further Austria 3rd generation Princess Maria Cristina Margherita, Duchess of Parma Anna, Archduchess of Further Austria Catherine, Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat 4th generation none 5th generation Anna Maria Luisa, Electress Palatine 6th generation none 7th generation Princess Maria Anna* Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen* Princess Maria Elisabeth* Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma* Princess Maria Johanna Gabriela* Princess Maria Josepha* Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily* Maria Antonia, Queen of France* 8th generation Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony* Princess Maria Anna* Princess Maria Amalia* Maria Clementina, Hereditary Princess of Naples* 9th generation Princess Carolina Ferdinande* Princess Maria Luisa* Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia* 10th generation Princess Maria Carolina* Auguste Ferdinande, Princess Luitpold of Bavaria* Princess Maria Maximiliana* Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani* Princess Maria Theresia* Princess Maria Cristina* Princess Maria Anna* Maria Luisa, Princess of Ysenburg and Büdingen* 11th generation Princess Maria Antonietta* Louise, Crown Princess of Saxony* Anna, Princess of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein* Princess Margareta* Princess Germana* Princess Agnes* Maria Theresa, Archduchess Charles Stephen of Austria* Karoline Marie, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha* Princess Maria Antonietta* Maria Immakulata, Duchess Robert of Württemberg* Princess Henriette* 12th generation Helena, Duchess Philipp of Württemberg* Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg* Princess Dolores* Maria Immaculada, Nobile Inigo Neri Sereneri* Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio* Princess Maria Antonia, Mrs. Luis Pérez* Princess Assunta, Mrs. Joseph Hopfinger* Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems* Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg* Gertrud, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg* Princess Maria Elisabeth* Princess Agnes* 13th generation Elisabeth, Edle Hubert von Braun* Alice, Baroness Vittorio Manno* Marie Antoinette, Freifrau von Proff zu Irnich* Princess Marie Christine* Princess Walburga, Mrs. Carlos Tasso* Princess Verena* Princess Katharina, Mrs. Roland Huber* Agnes, Freifrau Peter von Fürstenberg* Maria Ileana, Countess Adam Kottulinski* Alexandra, Freifrau Viktor von Baillou* Maria Magdalena, Freifrau von Holzhausen* Princess Elisabeth, Mrs. Friedrich Sandhofer* Agnes, Princess Karl Alfred of Liechtenstein* Princess Maria Margaretha* Princess Ludovica* Princess Allix* Josepha, Countess Clemens of Waldstein-Wartenberg* Valerie, Margravine of Baden* Alberta, Freifrau Alexander von Kottwitz-Erdödy* Theresa, Princess Rasso of Bavaria* Maria Inmakulata, Countess Reinhart of Hoensbroech* 14th generation Princess Marie Bernadette, Mrs. Rupert Wolff* Princess Katharina, Mrs. Niall Brooks* Princess Alicia* Princess Maria Christina* Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Andreas Baumgartner* Princess Marie Valerie, Mrs. Martin Josef Wagner* Princess Hedwig* Princess Veronika* 15th generation Princess Tatyana* Princess Anabella* Princess Tara* * also an archduchess of Austria ^did not have a royal or noble birth Princesses of France by marriage 1st generation None 2nd generation Marie de Bourbon Princess Marguerite of Lorraine 3rd generation Princess Henrietta of England Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate 4th generation Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Légitimée de France 5th generation Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans 6th generation None 7th generation Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony 8th generation Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy 9th generation Princess Marie Thérèse of France* Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily 10th generation Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este * also a princess of France in her own right Dauphines of France Joanna of Bourbon (1350–1364) Margaret of Burgundy (1412–1415) Jacqueline of Bavaria (1415–1417) Margaret of Scotland (1436–1445) Charlotte of Savoy (1451–1461) Catherine de' Medici (1536–1547) Mary, Queen of Scots (1558–1559) Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria (1680–1690) Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (1711–1712) Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (1745–1746) Maria Josepha of Saxony (1747–1765) Marie Antoinette of Austria (1770–1774) Marie Thérèse of France (1824–1830) Queens and Empresses of France Adelaide of Aquitaine Rozala of Italy Bertha of Burgundy Constance of Arles Matilda of Frisia Anne of Kiev Bertha of Holland Bertrade de Montfort Adelaide of Maurienne Eleanor of Aquitaine Constance of Castile Adèle of Champagne Isabella of Hainault Ingeborg of Denmark Agnes of Merania Blanche of Castile Margaret of Provence Isabella of Aragon Maria of Brabant Joan I of Navarre Margaret of Burgundy Clementia of Hungary Joan II of Burgundy Blanche of Burgundy Marie of Luxembourg Jeanne d'Évreux Joan the Lame Blanche of Navarre Joan I of Auvergne Joanna of Bourbon Isabeau of Bavaria Marie of Anjou Charlotte of Savoy Anne of Brittany Joan of France Mary Tudor Claude of France Eleanor of Austria Catherine de' Medici Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Elisabeth of Austria Louise of Lorraine Margaret of Valois Marie de' Medici Anne of Austria Maria Theresa of Spain Marie Leszczyńska Marie Antoinette of Austria Marie Joséphine of Savoy* Joséphine de Beauharnais Marie Louise of Austria Marie Thérèse of France* Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily Eugénie de Montijo *disputed French Revolution Timeline Ancien Régime Causes Revolution Constitutional monarchy Republic Directory Consulate Glossary   Significant civil and political events by year 1788 Day of the Tiles (7 Jun 1788) Assembly of Vizille (21 Jul 1788) 1789 What Is the Third Estate? (Jan 1789) Réveillon riots (28 Apr 1789) Convocation of the Estates-General (5 May 1789) National Assembly (17 Jun – 9 Jul 1790) National Constituent Assembly (9 Jul – 30 Sep 1791) Tennis Court Oath (20 Jun 1789) Storming of the Bastille (14 Jul 1789) Great Fear (20 Jul – 5 Aug 1789) Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (27 Aug 1789) Women's March on Versailles (5 Oct 1789) 1790 Abolition of the Parlements (Feb–Jul 1790) Abolition of the Nobility (19 Jun 1790) Civil Constitution of the Clergy (12 Jul 1790) 1791 Flight to Varennes (20–21 Jun 1791) Champ de Mars Massacre (17 Jul 1791) Declaration of Pillnitz (27 Aug 1791) The Constitution of 1791 (3 Sep 1791) Legislative Assembly (1 Oct 1791 – Sep 1792) 1792 France declares war (20 Apr 1792) Brunswick Manifesto (25 Jul 1792) Paris Commune becomes insurrectionary (Jun 1792) 10th of August (10 Aug 1792) September Massacres (Sep 1792) National Convention (20 Sep 1792 – 26 Oct 1795) First republic declared (22 Sep 1792) 1793 Execution of Louis XVI (21 Jan 1793) Revolutionary Tribunal (9 Mar 1793 – 31 May 1795) Reign of Terror (27 Jun 1793 – 27 Jul 1794) Committee of Public Safety Committee of General Security Fall of the Girondists (2 Jun 1793) Assassination of Marat (13 Jul 1793) Levée en masse (23 Aug 1793) Law of Suspects (17 Sep 1793) Marie Antoinette is guillotined (16 Oct 1793) Anti-clerical laws (throughout the year) 1794 Danton & Desmoulins guillotined (5 Apr 1794) Law of 22 Prairial (10 Jun 1794) Thermidorian Reaction (27 Jul 1794) White Terror (Fall 1794) Closing of the Jacobin Club (11 Nov 1794) 1795 1795 Constitution (22 Aug 1795) Conspiracy of the Equals (Nov 1795) Directoire (1795–99) Council of Five Hundred Council of Ancients 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor (4 Sep 1797) Second Congress of Rastatt (Dec 1797) 1799 Coup of 30 Prairial VII (18 Jun 1799) Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 Nov 1799) Constitution of the Year VIII (24 Dec 1799) Consulate   Revolutionary campaigns 1792 Verdun Thionville Valmy Royalist Revolts Chouannerie Vendée Dauphiné Lille Siege of Mainz Jemappes Namur 1793 First Coalition Siege of Toulon (18 Sep – 18 Dec 1793) War in the Vendée Battle of Neerwinden) Battle of Famars (23 May 1793) Capture of San Pietro and Sant'Antioco (25 May 1793) Battle of Kaiserslautern Siege of Mainz Battle of Wattignies Battle of Hondschoote Siege of Bellegarde Battle of Peyrestortes (Pyrenees) First Battle of Wissembourg (13 Oct 1793) Battle of Truillas (Pyrenees) Second Battle of Wissembourg (26–27 Dec 1793) 1794 Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies (24 Apr 1794) Battle of Boulou (Pyrenees) (30 Apr – 1 May 1794) Battle of Tournay (22 May 1794) Battle of Fleurus (26 Jun 1794) Chouannerie Battle of Tourcoing (18 May 1794) Battle of Aldenhoven (2 Oct 1794) 1795 Peace of Basel 1796 Battle of Lonato (3–4 Aug 1796) Battle of Castiglione (5 Aug 1796) Battle of Theiningen Battle of Neresheim (11 Aug 1796) Battle of Amberg (24 Aug 1796) Battle of Würzburg (3 Sep 1796) Battle of Rovereto (4 Sep 1796) First Battle of Bassano (8 Sep 1796) Battle of Emmendingen (19 Oct 1796) Battle of Schliengen (26 Oct 1796) Second Battle of Bassano (6 Nov 1796) Battle of Calliano (6–7 Nov 1796) Battle of the Bridge of Arcole (15–17 Nov 1796) The Ireland Expedition (Dec 1796) 1797 Naval Engagement off Brittany (13 Jan 1797) Battle of Rivoli (14–15 Jan 1797) Battle of the Bay of Cádiz (25 Jan 1797) Treaty of Leoben (17 Apr 1797) Battle of Neuwied (18 Apr 1797) Treaty of Campo Formio (17 Oct 1797) 1798 French Invasion of Egypt (1798–1801) Irish Rebellion of 1798 (23 May – 23 Sep 1798) Quasi-War (1798–1800) Peasants' War (12 Oct – 5 Dec 1798) 1799 Second Coalition (1798–1802) Siege of Acre (20 Mar – 21 May 1799) Battle of Ostrach (20–21 Mar 1799) Battle of Stockach (25 Mar 1799) Battle of Magnano (5 Apr 1799) Battle of Cassano (27 Apr 1799) First Battle of Zurich (4–7 Jun 1799) Battle of Trebbia (19 Jun 1799) Battle of Novi (15 Aug 1799) Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 Sep 1799) 1800 Battle of Marengo (14 Jun 1800) Battle of Hohenlinden (3 Dec 1800) League of Armed Neutrality (1800–02) 1801 Treaty of Lunéville (9 Feb 1801) Treaty of Florence (18 Mar 1801) Algeciras Campaign (8 Jul 1801) 1802 Treaty of Amiens (25 Mar 1802)   Military leaders French Army Eustache Charles d'Aoust Pierre Augereau Alexandre de Beauharnais Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte Louis-Alexandre Berthier Jean-Baptiste Bessières Guillaume-Marie-Anne Brune Jean François Carteaux Jean Étienne Championnet Chapuis de Tourville Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis Desaix Jacques François Dugommier Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Charles François Dumouriez Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino Louis-Charles de Flers Paul Grenier Emmanuel de Grouchy Jacques Maurice Hatry Lazare Hoche Jean-Baptiste Jourdan François Christophe de Kellermann Jean Baptiste Kléber Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Jean Lannes Charles Leclerc Claude Lecourbe François Joseph Lefebvre Jacques MacDonald Jean-Antoine Marbot Jean Baptiste de Marbot François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers Auguste de Marmont André Masséna Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey Jean Victor Marie Moreau Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise Joachim Murat Michel Ney Pierre-Jacques Osten Nicolas Oudinot Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon Jean-Charles Pichegru Józef Poniatowski Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier Joseph Souham Jean-de-Dieu Soult Louis-Gabriel Suchet Belgrand de Vaubois Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno French Navy Charles-Alexandre Linois Opposition Austria József Alvinczi Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Count of Clerfayt (Walloon) Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze (Swiss) Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth Pál Kray (Hungarian) Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc (French) Maximilian Baillet de Latour (Walloon) Karl Mack von Leiberich Rudolf Ritter von Otto (Saxon) Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló (Hungarian) Karl Philipp Sebottendorf Dagobert von Wurmser Britain Sir Ralph Abercromby Admiral Sir James Saumarez Admiral Sir Edward Pellew Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Dutch Republic William V, Prince of Orange  Prussia Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen Russia Alexander Korsakov Alexander Suvorov Spain Luis Firmin de Carvajal Antonio Ricardos   Other significant figures and factions Society of 1789 Jean Sylvain Bailly Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt Isaac René Guy le Chapelier Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord Nicolas de Condorcet Feuillants and monarchiens Madame de Lamballe Madame du Barry Louis de Breteuil Loménie de Brienne Charles Alexandre de Calonne de Chateaubriand Jean Chouan Grace Elliott Arnaud de La Porte Jean-Sifrein Maury Jacques Necker François-Marie, marquis de Barthélemy Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas Antoine Barnave Lafayette Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth Charles Malo François Lameth André Chénier Jean-François Rewbell Camille Jordan Madame de Staël Boissy d'Anglas Jean-Charles Pichegru Pierre Paul Royer-Collard Girondists Jacques Pierre Brissot Roland de La Platière Madame Roland Father Henri Grégoire Étienne Clavière Marquis de Condorcet Charlotte Corday Marie Jean Hérault Jean Baptiste Treilhard Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve Jean Debry Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil Olympe de Gouges Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux The Plain Abbé Sieyès de Cambacérès Charles François Lebrun Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot Philippe Egalite Louis Philippe I Mirabeau Antoine Christophe Merlin de Thionville Jean Joseph Mounier Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours François de Neufchâteau Montagnards Maximilien Robespierre Georges Danton Jean-Paul Marat Camille Desmoulins Louis Antoine de Saint-Just Paul Nicolas, vicomte de Barras Louis Philippe I Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau Jacques-Louis David Marquis de Sade Jacques-Louis David Georges Couthon Roger Ducos Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois Jean-Henri Voulland Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville Philippe-François-Joseph Le Bas Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier Jean-Pierre-André Amar Prieur de la Côte-d'Or Prieur de la Marne Gilbert Romme Jean Bon Saint-André Jean-Lambert Tallien Pierre Louis Prieur Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Antoine Christophe Saliceti Hébertists and Enragés Jacques Hébert Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne Pierre Gaspard Chaumette Charles-Philippe Ronsin Antoine-François Momoro François-Nicolas Vincent François Chabot Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel François Hanriot Jacques Roux Stanislas-Marie Maillard Charles-Philippe Ronsin Jean-François Varlet Theophile Leclerc Claire Lacombe Pauline Léon François-Noël Babeuf Sylvain Maréchal Others Charles X Louis XVI Louis XVII Louis XVIII Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien Louis Henri, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Marie Antoinette Napoléon Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Fesch Joséphine de Beauharnais Joachim Murat Jean Sylvain Bailly Jacques-Donatien Le Ray Guillaume-Chrétien de Malesherbes Talleyrand Thérésa Tallien Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target Catherine Théot List of people associated with the French Revolution   Influential thinkers Les Lumières Beaumarchais Edmund Burke Anacharsis Cloots Charles-Augustin de Coulomb Pierre Claude François Daunou Diderot Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson Antoine Lavoisier Montesquieu Thomas Paine Jean-Jacques Rousseau Abbé Sieyès Voltaire   Cultural impact La Marseillaise French Tricolour Liberté, égalité, fraternité Marianne Bastille Day Panthéon French Republican Calendar Cult of the Supreme Being Cult of Reason Sans-culottes Metric system Women in the French Revolution Symbolism in the French Revolution Historiography of the French Revolution Influence of the French Revolution

Authority control WorldCat VIAF: 96583693 LCCN: n80038420 ISNI: 0000 0001 2144 5058 GND: 118577905 SELIBR: 208358 SUDOC: 029435307 BNF: cb12106345v (data) ULAN: 500122363 NLA: 35788023 NDL: 00621070 NKC: jn20000701153 BNE: XX831238