Mark Zuckerberg
Mobsters
Icons of the Wild West
Robin Gibb
My Ghost Story
Mobsters
Robert Downey Jr
Margaret Thatcher
Marilyn Monroe
I Survived
1 photo
Quick Facts
- NAME: Marie Antoinette
- OCCUPATION: Queen
- BIRTH DATE: November 02, 1755
- DEATH DATE: October 16, 1793
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Vienna, Austria
- PLACE OF DEATH: Paris, France
Best Known For
Marie Antoinette helped provoke the popular unrest that led to the French Revolution and to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792.
Marie Antoinette. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 08:34, May 23, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996
Marie Antoinette [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996, May 23
" Marie Antoinette." 2012. Biography.com 23 May 2012, 08:34 http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996
' Marie Antoinette', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996 [accessed May 23, 2012]
" Marie Antoinette," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996 (accessed May 23, 2012).
Marie Antoinette [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 23]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996.
Marie Antoinette, http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996 (last visited May 23, 2012).
Marie Antoinette, http://www.biography.com/people/marie-antoinette-9398996 (last visited May 23, 2012).
Synopsis
Born on November 2, 1755, in Vienna, Austria, Marie Antoinette helped provoke the popular unrest that led to the French Revolution and to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792, in part with her famous quote addressing the starving French populace: 'Let them eat cake.' As a 20-year consort to Louis XVI, she was beheaded nine months after he was by order of the Revolutionary tribunal.
Profile
Queen of France. Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, was born as Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria. She was the fifteenth and second to last child of Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria, and Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor. Marie Antoinette lived a relatively carefree childhood. She received an education typical of an eighteenth-century aristocratic girl, focusing primarily on religious and moral principles while her brothers studied more academic subject matter.
With the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, the preservation of a fragile alliance between Austria and France became a priority for Empress Maria Theresa; cementing alliances through matrimonial connections was a common practice among European royal families at the time. In 1765, the son of French Emperor Louis XV, Louis Ferdinand, died, leaving his 11-year-old grandson Louis Auguste heir to the French throne. Within months, Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste were pledged to marry each other.
In 1768, Louis XV dispatched a tutor to Austria to instruct his grandson's future wife. The tutor found Marie Antoinette "more intelligent than has been generally supposed," but added that since "she is rather lazy and extremely frivolous, she is hard to teach." A child of only 14 years, delicately beautiful with gray-blue eyes and ash-blonde hair, in May 1770, Marie Antoinette set out for France to be married, escorted by 57 carriages, 117 footmen and 376 horses. On May 16, 1770, Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste were married. The young woman did not adjust well, however, to a married life for which she was obviously not ready, and her frequent letters home revealed intense homesickness. "Madame, my very dear mother," she wrote in one letter, "I have not received one of your dear letters without having the tears come to my eyes." She also bristled at some of the rituals she was expected to perform as a lady of the French royal family. "I put on my rouge and wash my hands in front of the whole world," she complained of a ritual in which she was required to put on her makeup in front of dozens of courtiers.
Louis XV passed away in 1774, and Louis Auguste succeeded him to the French throne as Louis XVI, making Marie Antoinette, at 19 years old, Queen of France. However, as personalities went Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette could not have been more different. He was introverted, shy and indecisive, a lover of solitary pleasures such as reading and metalwork. She was vivacious
profile name: Marie Antoinette profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Sober Celebs
View groupDespite their fame and fortune, celebrities aren't immune to all the problems that afflict ordinary people. The problems of drug and alcohol addiction plagues many stars, particularly those who enjoy hard-partying lifestyles. Fortunately, many talented individuals have been able to kick their addictions and lead healthy lives. Here are some celebs who have sobered up.
Sober Celebs 76 people in this group
-
Beheaded
View groupWhether by sword, axe or guillotine, death by beheading was historically considered the most humane form of death sentence—as long as the executioner was swift, strong and good at hitting his mark. While the practice was never legally supported in the United States, we do give the method a nod in this country whenever we use the term "capital punishment"; the word "capital" is derived from the Latin "capitalis," which translates to "of the head." Here are some of the most famous victims of this gruesome form of execution.
Beheaded 14 people in this group
-
Famous Scorpios 448 people in this group
