Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette (1755–93), queen of France from 1774. Daughter of Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis I, she married the Dauphin in 1770 to strengthen ties between Austria and France and became queen on his accession as Louis XVI. The unpopular, unconsummated (for 7 yrs) marriage and youthful extravagances made her many enemies, as did her involvement in several scandals. When the French Revolution broke out she advised the attempted escape of the royal family, which ended with its capture at Varennes. She began her own negotiations, independent of her husband, first with comte de Mirabeau, later with Antoine Barnave, and even asked for Austrian intervention in France, to no avail. Imprisoned with Louis, her son, Louis XVIII, taken from her, she was guillotined 9 months after the king, in Oct. 1793.

See also: French Revolution; Louis.