Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette:
Biography by Camille Blumberg
March 31, 2017
The Arranged Marriage
Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna, Austria 1755. She was the 15th child of the Roman emperor Francis the first and, Maria Theresa the Habsburg empress. As a way to strengthen alliances between the French and Habsburg thrones, Theresa promised her daughter's hand in marriage to the soon to be king Louis the 16th of France. Four years later, at age 15, Marie Antoinette married Louis of France. Also, before the wedding THEY HAD NEVER MET!!! And to top it all off more than 5,000 guests witnessed their wedding! That was the beginning of Marie’s life in the public's eye.
Part Of The Public
Being a public figure was not easy for Marie Antoinette. She had very little official duties, so she spent most of her time socializing and indulging her extravagant taste, as an example once she had a farm built near the place so that she and her ladies in waiting could dress up in lavish costumes and pretend to be milkmaids and farm hands. The news soon picked up the news of her “childish” behavior and soon it was widely spread and people were soon talking about her outlandish behavior. Then before long, it had become a custom to blame Marie for all of France's problems.
Happy
Marie Antoinette enjoyed music and her music teacher said “ very beautiful but playful, lively and sometimes hard to control.”. It was true though Marie loved laughing and playing around and then when she was older and living with the king she developed a liking for diamonds.The queen and her court ladies also competed for the most elaborate hairstyles having they're powdered curls arranged to such heights they could barely fit into their coaches.
Oh
By the age of twenty, Marie already had enemies, people who had hated her from the start ( mostly because she was Austrian) started to publish terrible lies like accusing her of shocking behavior and then there were irresponsible spendings which only made more rumors. Then, in her letters her mother started to say that she had lost all sense and her brother called her a feather head. But when her first child was born in 1738 (a girl) , the queen slowed her social life and drew closer to the king. Then in 1781, she had a second child and in 1755, he was followed by another boy. Marie Antoinette proved to be an very good mother.
Closing
Marie Antoinette ended up living to age 37. She was convicted and brought to the guillotine on October 16th, 1793. She was convicted for treason and her son was forced to blame her for other crimes.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette
http://www.history.com/topics/marie-antoinette
Plain, Nancy. Rulers and their times Louis xv1, Marie Antoinette.New York..Marshall Cavendish,2002..print