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Marie Antionette, named Maria Antonia, was born an Archduchess of Austria in Vienna on 2 November 1755. She was the youngest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa and was one of sixteen royal children. As was custom, shortly after her birth she was placed under the care of the governess of the imperial children, Countess von Brandeis and was raised together with her sister, Maria Carolina, who was three years older, with whom she maintained a lifelong close relationship.
Maria's childhood was spent between the Hofburg Palace and the imperial summer residence Schönbrunn. Despite the private tutoring she received in her formative years the results of her education seemed fruitless. Indeed, at the age of 10 she could not write correctly in German (the language of the Imperial Court) or in any other language commonly used as court such as French or Italian. She did, however, develop into a good musician under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck, learning to play the harp, the harpsichord and the flute. Marie Antionette often sang during the family's evening gathering and possessed a beautiful voice. Furthermore, she excelled at dancing. During the time not spent on education she played with dolls.
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Maria Antonia had a difficult but ultimately loving relationship with her mother, who referred to her as "the little Madame Antoine". Shortly after giving birth to the younger children, Maria Theresa dove deep into the task of marrying off her elder children. She led many marriage negotiations and used her children as pawns in games of thrones, often sacrificing their happiness for the benefit of the state. Following the Seven Years' War Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her long-time enemy, King Louis XV of France. Their common desire to secure a definitive peace between their respective countries led them to seal their alliance with a marriage, as was a common occurrence of the time. On the 7th of February 1770 the King of France formally requested the hand of Maria Antonia, then 14 years old, for his eldest grandson and heir, Louis-Auguste.
Maria's previously neglected education was corrected when the French King showed an interest in her. Her mother started an intense program educating her daughter about the court of Versailles and the French.
In April 1770 Maria Antonia's life in Austria came to an end when she married Louis-Auguste by proxy* in Vienna, thus adopting the more french sounding name of Marie Antoinette, Dauphine of France.
*A proxy wedding is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons.
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Interesting fact: Maria Antonia was born on All Souls Day, which was a day when Catholics mourned their dead, and everything was black. Therefore, during her childhood her birthday was celebrated on the eve of it, which was All Saints Day, where everything was white and gold.
