Marie-Antoinette of Austria

Biography

Youth

In Vienna

Marie-Antoinette is the last but one child of the emperor François I {{er}} of Lorraine and of the empress of Austria Marie-Therese, in the middle of their five sons (Joseph, the heir to the throne, Léopold, Charles, Ferdinand and Maximilien) and of their eight daughters (Marie-Anne, Marie-Christine, Marie-Elisabeth, Marie-Amélie, Marie-Jeanne, Jeanne-Gabrielle, Marie-Josèphe, Marie-Caroline). She is born on November 2nd, 1755, with the Château of Schönbrunn, Vienna, the shortly after the earthquake of Lisbon whose country is controlled by its godfather and his godmother. Funny of coincidence, predicts other catastrophes for their goddaughter. She is baptized under the first names of Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna . She is at once entrusted to the “ayas”, controlling them of the royal family (Mrs. de Brandeiss, then severe Mrs. de Lerchenfeld) and shares her childhood between the palate of Hofburg in Vienna and the Château of Schönbrunn. Marie-Antoinette receives an education where the maintenance, the dance, the music and to appear it occupy the essence of its time and does not profit from any political instruction. At 10 years, it has evil to read like writing in German, speaks little and with difficulty French to which it prefers German, and very little Italian -- three languages which were then spoken usually in the imperial family. She learns also some rudiments from Latin. At that time, the court of Austria has a label much less strict than that of Versailles, the dances are less complex there, the luxury is less there and crowd fewer. The young person Maria Antonia Josepha is very close to his younger older sister, Marie-Caroline, which will become queen of Naples by marrying Ferdinand Ier of Deux-Siciles. The legend also wants that the young Marie-Antoinette met the child prodigy Mozart at this court, and that he would have asked it in marriage.

His/her Marie-Therese mother, like all the sovereigns of the time, puts the marriage of her children at the service of her policy which is to reconcile the Habsbourg and the Bourbon to face the ambitions of the Prussia and the England. Thus, among the older sisters of Marie-Antoinette, if Marie-Christine, the preferred child of the empress (1742 - 1798), wife by love in 1766 Albert of Saxony, created duke of Teschen (1738 - 1822), and will be named with him Régente of the the Netherlands, Marie-Amélie (1746 - 1804) wife Ferdinand Ier, duke of Parma (1751 - 1802) and Marie-Caroline (1752 - 1814) wife in 1768 Ferdinand Ier, the king of Naples and of Deux-Siciles (1751 - 1825).

The marriage between the dolphin, the future Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette must be the apotheosis of this policy.

Marie-Antoinette leaves Vienna in April 1770, at the fourteen years age. According to the use, at the time to leave the Saint Worsens all his goods coming from its country of origin, even its clothing, will be withdrawn to him in a building built purposely on an island in the middle of the the Rhine. The two entries of this building were laid out in such a way that it enters there on the Austrian side and comes out from it in France.

Dauphine

The April 17th 1770, Marie-Antoinette gives up officially her rights on the crowns depending on the House of Austria and, on May 16th, 1770, marries the dolphin in Versailles. The very same day weddings, a scandal of label takes place: the princesses of Lorraine, putting forward their relationship with the dauphine news, obtained to dance before the duchesses, to the great displeasure of the remainder of the nobility, which murmurs already against “the Austrian one”.

The young girl, with the pleasant physique though completely not developed, is rather small and does not have yet the “throat” if appreciated in France. The dauphine young person has néanmois much grace and a lightness almost dancing in his way of being driven. Archduchess of Austria, back-small niece of Louis XIV, by his maternal grandmother Elisabeth Charlotte of Orleans Lorraine duchess of and Bar, object living of the " inversion of the alliances" of the king Louis XV, it attracts as of its arrival the enmity of part of the Court. Moreover, the dauphine young person has evil to be accustomed to his new life, his spirit yields badly with the complexity and the rouery of the “old court”, with the Libertinage of the king Louis XV and of his mistress the countess of Barry. Her husband likes it but avoids it, leaving very early to drive out (the marriage is consumed only in August 1777), it pains to be accustomed to the French ceremonial, the lack of intimacy and painfully undergoes “the label”, rigid directions for use of the court.

It is handled by the girls of the king Louis XV who teach to him the aversion for “the countess of Barry” what causes to aggravate Louis XV. In addition, Marie-Antoinette will be made soon enemy: during the first times, she refuses of him to speak but forced by Louis XV, ends up addressing the word to the countess. Marie-Antoinette will arise humiliated this incident. Moreover, Vienna tries to handle it by the means of the bulky correspondence which maintains his/her mother with the count de Mercy-Argenteau, ambassador from Austria to Paris. This last is only on which it can count, because the duke of Choiseul, that which had allowed the bringing together of France with Austria, fell in disgrace less than one year after the marriage, victim of a cabal assembled by Mrs. of Barry. This famous secret correspondence of Mercy-Argenteau is a formidable information source on all the details of the life of Marie-Antoinette since her marriage in 1770 until the death of Marie Therese Ire in 1780. According to the author of the book gathering this correspondence:

“These original documents are not satisfied to introduce us into his intimacy, they also reveal us how Marie-Antoinette, deprived of experiment and stripped of political culture, was handled by her Austrian family to which it remained always attached”.

Queen of France

Louis XV dies the May 10th 1774 and Marie-Antoinette becomes queen of France and Navarre at 18 years. Without heir to be always offered to France and always considered as foreign, the Queen becomes, as of the summer 1777, the target of first hostile songs which circulate of Paris to Versailles. Being surrounded of a small court of friends quickly qualified of Favorite S (the princess of Lamballe, the Princess of Guéménée, the Duke of Lauzun, the baron de Besenval, the duke of Coigny then the countess of Polignac), it causes the jealousies of the other courtiers. Its toilets and the expensive festivals that it organizes benefit the radiation from France, in particular as regards mode and of the trade of the textile, but, despite everything, are criticized, although they are a “water drop” in the general expenditure of the operation of the court, the administrations, or compared with the standard of living of certain princes of blood or lords carrying out large train.

To find in Versailles what she knew in Vienna - a life more slackened in family with her friends - Marie-Antoinette forgets than she is queen of France. It often leaves for the Petit Trianon (offered by his/her husband), with some privileged people and her children. It makes build a village models and there installs farmers, the Hameau. In its small theater, she plays in particular the Marriage of Barber of Beaumarchais, so critical part of the company of the Old Mode which the king had prohibited it, and often holds of the roles of maidservant in front of an amused Louis XVI. By her desire of simple pleasures and exclusive friendships, Marie-Antoinette quickly will be made enemies more and more, even at the court of Versailles.

Life at the court

It tries to influence the policy of the king, to make and demolish the ministers, always on the interested councils of her friends. But, contrary to the rumor, its political role will prove extremely limited. The baron Pichler, secretary of Marie-Therese I {{Re}}, politely summarizes the general opinion while writing: “She wants to be neither controlled neither directed, nor even guided by anyone. It is the point on which all its reflections appear until now to be concentrated. Out from there, it yet hardly reflects, and the use which it made up to now of its independence proves it enough, since it related only to objects of recreation and frivolity. ” A true coterie is assembled against it as of its accession to the throne, of the lampoons circulate, one shows it to have lovers (the count d' Artois its brother-in-law, the Swedish count Hans Axel de Fersen) or even of the mistresses (the countess of Polignac), to waste the public money in frivolities or for its favorites, to make the play of the Austria, from now on directed by his/her brother Joseph II. The castle of Versailles is depopulated, fled by turned sour courtiers or preferring the pleasures of Paris. The December 19th 1778, Marie-Antoinette is confined of its first child, Marie-Therese, known as “Mrs Royale”. October 22nd 1781, it is the turn of a dolphin, '' Louis '' Joseph Xavier François. But that does not serve Marie-Antoinette inevitably, because the Libelle S quickly made show the child not to be not Louis XVI. The March 27th 1785, it is confined of a second boy, Louis-Charles, titrated duke of Normandy. In 1786 will be born small the Sophie-Beatrice, which will die in 1787 in 11 months.

The business of the Collar

In July 1785, bursts the business of the Collar: the Bohmer jeweller claims with queen 1,5 million books for the purchase of a diamond collar whose cardinal of Rohan carried out the negociations, in the name of the queen. The queen is unaware of this history very and, when the scandal bursts, the king requires that the name of his wife be washed affront. The cardinal is stopped. The king entrusts the business to the Parliament, the business is judged by Etienne François d' Aligre, which concludes with the culpability of the couple of adventurers in the beginning of the business, alleged “the count and countess of the Mound” and clears the cardinal of Rohan, deceived but innocent.

The cardinal of Rohan, as innocent as the Queen in this business, let himself handle by “Madam of the Mound”, but this would not have arrived if Marie-Antoinette had granted to the Cardinal the consideration which he claimed since the beginning. Indeed, the Cardinal, extremely frivolous and malicious gossip, are ignored by the Queen since always, with his great distress. When “Madam of the Mound”, which is said friendly and cousin of Marie-Antoinette, entrusts the negociations with the jeweller to him, the Cardinal asks for evidence and one will introduce a false Marie-Antoinette (actually a disguised prostitute) one evening in the park of Versailles and will invent a false correspondence until him; the naive one but nevertheless ambitious Cardinal thus accepts his mission with great pleasure since it with the so-called confidence of the queen.

The queen, although completely innocent, leaves the business of the collar largely discredited by the people. A whole literature seizes the adventures of the queen and the king: the Loves of Charlot and Toinette , caricatures of the royal couple, are, before 1789, a best-seller.

Marie-Antoinette realizes finally of her unpopularity and tries to reduce her expenditure, in particular by reforming her house, which starts new glares rather when its favorites see private their loads. Nothing made there, criticisms continues, the queen gains the nickname of “Mrs Déficit” and one shows it of all the evils, in particular to be at the origin of the unparliamentary policy of Louis XVI.

The Revolution

1789

The May 4th 1789 open the General states. At the time of the mass of opening, Mgr of Fare, which is with the pulpit, attacks Marie-Antoinette with hardly covered words, denouncing the unrestrained luxury of the court and those which, blasés by this luxury, seek the pleasure in “a puerile imitation of nature” (paid by Adrien Duquesnoy, Journal on the constituent Assembly ), obvious allusion to Small Trianon.

The June 4th, small the dolphin dies. To avoid the expenditure, one sacrifices the ceremonial of Saint-Denis. The political news does not make it possible the royal family to make her mourning suitably. Upset by this event, and disorientated by the turn which the General states take, Marie-Antoinette lets herself convince by the idea of a counter-revolution. In July, Necker resigns. The people interpret this resignation like a reference on behalf of the king. The queen burns her papers and gathers her diamonds, it wants to convince the king to leave Versailles for place-strong sure, far from Paris. It should be said that, since the July 14th, a book of proscription circulates in Paris. The favorites of the queen are there in good place, and the head of the queen itself is put at price. One shows it to want to make jump the Parliament with a mine, and to want to make give the troop on Paris, which is obviously false. It is nevertheless true that the Queen will preach the authority and will remain always anchored in the conviction of the legitimacy of the royal capacity, of which reduction the revolt.

October 1st, a new scandal bursts: at the time of a banquet given by the bodyguards of the Military household, with the regiment of Flanders which has just arrived at Paris, the queen is acclaimed, of the white rosettes are raised, and according to the revolutionary press of the tricolor rosettes would have been pressed. Paris is outraged by these demonstrations counter-revolutionaries, and the behavior of a banquet whereas the bread misses. The October 5th, a demonstration of women goes on Versailles, claiming bread, saying to go to seek “the baker” (the king), “the baker” (the queen) and the “small baker's boy” (the dolphin). Many armed men slipped into the procession. At this point in time one allots to Marie-Antoinette this quotation - completely erroneous: “If they do not have bread, that they eat brioche! ”. A sentence was allotted to him that Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote in book VI of his Confessions , published in 1782. The king, income of hunting, oscillate between several options, in particular the departure of Versailles towards another made safe castle, the blocking of risen before their arrival with Versailles which he refuses not to be likely to make run blood or simple waiting. After a certain confusion, the royal family remains in Versailles and the king receives a delegation of women. In evening Fayette arrives with the national guard and answers of the safety of the king. The royal family leaves to lie down. In the small hour, rioters armed with spades and knives penetrate in the castle, kill two bodyguards and threaten the royal family. The queen in particular escapes from little to the attackers who invade his room and must later only show with the balcony marble court in front of an armed crowd. Nobody finally draws to him above but the royal family is then forced to go to Paris, is escorted by the troops of the marquis of Fayette and the rioters. On the way, one threatens the queen, showing him a cord and promising a reverberator of the capital to him to hang it.

The constitutional monarchy

The October 10th, Louis XVI takes the title of “King of the French”. With Marie-Antoinette, they would have been determined to ask of the assistance the foreign sovereigns, the king of Spain Charles IV and Joseph II, brother of the queen. But the king of Spain answers évasivement and the February 20th 1790, Joseph II dies. Doubts and controversies between historians remain on this possible call abroad. Fayette coldly suggests with the queen the divorce. Others speak with words hardly covered about a lawsuit in adultery, and to take the queen in red-handed with the count de Fersen.

Breteuil then proposes, fine 1790, a plan of escape. The idea is to leave Tileries and to gain place-strong Montmédy, near to the border. The queen is increasingly alone, especially since in October 1790, Mercy-Argenteau left France for its new embassy with the Netherlands and that Léopold II, the new emperor, another of his brothers, eludes its requests for assistance, because, philosophical monarch, it pushes on the contrary his sister to play the game of the new Constitution. The March 7th, a letter of Mercy-Argenteau to the queen is intercepted and carried in front of the Commune. It is the scandal, a proof, thinks one, of the “Austrian committee”, the negociations of the queen to sell the fatherland in Austria.

The June 20th begins awkward the escape bid, stopped the following day by the arrest with Varennes-in-Argonne. Very quickly, Paris realizes escape. However, Fayette succeeds in making believe that the king was removed by counter-revolutionaries. The explanation varies according to the historians: for some he sought to protect the fugitive ones, for others he sought simply a legal reason valid for stop them. The royal family, out of Paris, hardly any more hides. Unfortunately, their truck is late of more than three hours, and when it arrives at the first go, with the relay of Bridge-of-Nap-Vesle, the promised troops set out again, thinking that the king changed opinion. Little before midday, the truck is stopped with Varennes-in-Argonne. The postmaster of the preceding relay, with Holy-Menehould, recognized the king. One moment ago of hesitation, nobody not knowing that to make and, during this time, crowd runs to Varennes. Finally, the royal family, under the threats and in a climate of deaf violence, is brought back to Paris.

After Varennes

----

Questioned Paris by a delegation of the constituent Assembly évasivement, Louis XVI answers. These answers, made public, cause the scandal, and certain revolutionists claim the forfeiture of the king. Marie-Antoinette, it, corresponds secretly with Barnave, Duport and Lameth which want to convince the king to accept his role of constitutional monarch. But she plays a double game there because she hopes for only " to deaden and give them confidence for best thwarting après" (letter of the Queen with Mercy). She writes even in Fersen these words " which happiness if I then one day to become again enough powerful to prove with all these gueux that I was not them dupe". The September 13rd, Louis XVI accepts the Constitution. The 30, the constituent Assembly dissolves and is replaced by the legislative Assemblée, however that noises of war with monarchies around, the first of which the Austria, are done more pressing. The people are then assembled against Marie-Antoinette, always called “the Austrian one”. The revolutionary lampoons and newspapers treat it “monster female” or of “Mrs Véto”, and one shows it to want to make bathe the capital in blood. In April 1792, France declares the war in Prussia and it undergoes serious reverse initially. The August 3rd 1792, the Proclamation of Brunswick, largely inspired by Fersen, completes to ignite part of the population.

The August 10th, it is the insurrection. Tileries are taken by storm, the massacred guards, the king and its family must take refuge with the Parliament, which votes her temporary suspension and their internment with the convent of the Breaking into leaf. The following day, the royal family is finally transferred to the Prison from the Temple. During the massacres of September, the princess of Lamballe, close friend of the queen and victim symbolic system, wildly is assassinated, dismembered, and its head is held up at the end of a spade in front of the windows of Marie-Antoinette while various pieces of her body are held up in trophy in Paris. A little later Convention declares the royal family Otage. At the beginning of December, takes place the official discovery of the “Armoire of iron” in which Louis XVI hid his secret papers and whose existence is prone to debates today. The lawsuit is from now on inevitable.

The December 26th, the Convention vote death with a narrow majority. Louis XVI is carried out the January 21st 1793. The March 27th, Robespierre evokes the fate of the queen for the first time in front of Convention. The July 13rd, the dolphin is removed with his/her mother and is entrusted to the cobbler Simon. The August 2nd, it is Marie-Antoinette who is separated from the princesses (her daughter Mrs Royale and its sister-in-law Mrs Elisabeth) and is led to the Conciergerie. During the transfer, whereas it violently knocked the head, it answers its geôliers who worry his famous “Anything about it now cannot more make me of evil”. Its interrogation begins the following day.

The lawsuit

The October 3rd 1793, Marie-Antoinette appears before the revolutionary Tribunal, carried out by the public prosecutor Fouquier-Tinville. If the lawsuit of Louis XVI had preserved some forms of fair trial, it is not the case of that of the queen. The file is assembled very quickly, it is incomplete, Fouquier-Tinville not having succeeded in finding all the parts of that of Louis XVI. To charge the charge, he speaks to make testify the dolphin against his mother who is then accused of Inceste by Jacques-Rene Hébert. He declares that the queen and Mrs. Elisabeth had contacts on the young person Louis XVII. Marie-Antoinette answers nothing and one sworn makes the remark of it. Marie-Antoinette rises and answers “If I did not answer it is that nature itself refuses to answer such a charge made with a mother. I call some with all those which can be here! ”. For the last time, crowd (and especially women) applaud the queen. Once does the finished meeting, this one require of its lawyer “do not have I not put too much dignity in my answer? ”, a person in crowd known as “it answered like an angel, one will do nothing but off-set it”.

It is also shown agreement with the foreign powers. As the queen denies, Hermann, president of the Court, shows it to be “the principal instigator of the treason of Louis Capet”: it is thus well a lawsuit for high treason. The preamble to the bill of indictment also declares: “Made Examination of all the parts transmitted by the public prosecutor, it results from it that following the example Messalines Frédégonde and Médicis, that one formerly qualified queens of France and whose forever odious names will not be erased records of the history, Marie-Antoinette, widow of Louis Capet, was, since its stay in France, the plague and the leech of the French. ” He adds " the cause of the disorders which has agitated for four years the nation and did so many unhappy victimes." The depositions of the witnesses for the prosecution prove well not very convincing. Marie-Antoinette answers that it was “only the woman of Louis XVI, and that it was necessary well that it conform for his wills”. Fouquier-Tinville claims the death and fact of marked “enemy declared French nation”. The two lawyers of Marie-Antoinette, Section-Ducoudray and Chauveau-Lagarde, young people, inexperienced and not having been informed of the file, can only aloud read the few notes which they had time to take.

Four questions are put to the jury:

“1. Is it constant that there were operations and intelligences with the foreign powers and other enemies external of the Republic, the aforementioned operations and of the intelligences tending to provide them helps out of money, to give them the entry of the French territory and to facilitate the progress of their weapons to them?

2. Marie-Antoinette of Austria (…) is she convinced to have cooperated with these operations and to have maintained these intelligences?

3. Is it constant that there was a plot and a conspiracy tending to light the civil war inside the Republic?

4. Is Marie-Antoinette convinced to have taken part in this plot and this conspiracy? ”

The four questions, the jury answers “yes”.

When the jury returns his verdict, there does not exist any proof of the charge of high treason which one charges to the queen. The file is empty of any part.

Technically, within sight of the parts of the lawsuit, it is true that the judgment is not based on established facts. It later was learned, Marie-Antoinette communicated confidential military directives in Austria with an aim of saving his family but also " so that finally one is avenged for all the insults which one receives in this country-ci" (letter of the Queen with Mercy). But the proof of this will be discovered only well later.

Actually, it was necessary to condemn the “Capet widow”. Robespierre did not hesitate to integrate into the jury the doctor who looked after the queen with the caretaker's lodge, which indicated to the others sworn that in any case Marie-Antoinette was condemned médicalement shortly.

Marie-Antoinette is condemned to died for high treason the October 16th, around four hours of the morning by fear of a popular riot. She wrote then with Mrs Elisabeth, the sister of Louis XVI: “I have just been condemned, not with a ashamed death, it is it only for the criminals, but with going to join your brother”. The very same day, it is taken along hand tieds on a cart - Louis XVI had been entitled to one fits with body. Before being guillotinée, the queen walks by inadvertency on the foot of her torturer. She is turned over towards him and says to him “excuse me, Sir, I did not do it purposely”. At midday a quarter, it is guillotinée, after having refused to confess itself to the constitutional priest that one presented to him. She is buried with the head between the legs with the cemetery of the Madeleine, street of Anjou-Saint-Honore (Louis XVIII will make raise at this place the expiatory vault located nowadays Square Louis XVI, only place of Paris bearing the name of the king). Its body was exhumed the January 18th 1815 and was transported the 21 with Saint-Denis.

“ the first Crime of the Revolution, ” known as Chateaubriant, “ was the death of the King, but most dreadful was the death of the Queen ”.

And Napoleon said on his side: “ the death of the Queen was a crime worse than the regicide ”

Random links: