True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

Marie Antoinette Part I

Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne(/ˌæntwəˈnɛt, ˌɒ̃t-/; French: [maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt] (listen);née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. Shewas born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child andyoungest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. Shebecame dauphine of France in May 1770 at age 14 upon her marriage toLouis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne. On 10 May 1774,her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI and she became queen.

Marie Antoinette's position at courtimproved when, after eight years of marriage, she started havingchildren. She became increasingly unpopular among the people,however, with the French libelles accusing her of being profligate,promiscuous, allegedly having illegitimate children, and harboringsympathies for France's perceived enemies—particularly her nativeAustria. The false accusations of the Affair of the Diamond Necklacedamaged her reputation further. During the Revolution, she becameknown as Madame Déficit because the country's financial crisis wasblamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to the social andfinancial reforms of Turgot and Necker.

Several events were linked to MarieAntoinette during the Revolution after the government had placed theroyal family under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace in October1789. The June 1791 attempted flight to Varennes and her role in theWar of the First Coalition had disastrous effects on French popularopinion. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced theroyal family to take refuge at the Assembly, and they were imprisonedin the Temple Prison on 13 August. On 21 September 1792, the monarchywas abolished. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January1793. Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October 1793; she wasconvicted two days later by the Revolutionary Tribunal of hightreason and executed, also by guillotine, at the Place de laRévolution.

Early life (1755–1770)

Maria Antonia was born on 2 November1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. She was the youngestdaughter of Empress Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg Empire, andher husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Her godparents were JosephI and Mariana Victoria, King and Queen of Portugal; Archduke Josephand Archduchess Maria Anna acted as proxies for their newborn sister.Maria Antonia was born on All Souls Day, a Catholic day of mourning,and during her childhood her birthday was instead celebrated the daybefore, on All Saint's Day, due to the connotations of the date.Shortly after her birth she was placed under the care of thegoverness of the imperial children, Countess von Brandeis. MariaAntonia was raised together with her sister, Maria Carolina, who wasthree years older, and with whom she had a lifelong closerelationship. Maria Antonia had a difficult but ultimately lovingrelationship with her mother, who referred to her as "thelittle Madame Antoine".

Maria Antonia spent her formative yearsbetween the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn, the imperial summerresidence in Vienna, where on 13 October 1762, when she was seven,she met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, two months her junior and a childprodigy. Despite the private tutoring she received, the results ofher schooling were less than satisfactory. At the age of 10 she couldnot write correctly in German or in any language commonly used atcourt, such as French or Italian, and conversations with her werestilted. Under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck, MariaAntonia developed into a good musician. She learned to play the harp,the harpsichord and the flute. She sang during the family's eveninggatherings, as she was known to have had a beautiful voice. She alsoexcelled at dancing, had "exquisite" poise, andloved dolls.