Who was Marie Antoinette?
Q: Who was Marie Antoinette?
A: Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France, as the wife of King Louis XVI, before the monarchy was abolished in the French Revolution. She was born as Maria Antonia as an Archduchess of Austria.
Q: How old was she when she married Louis?
A: She married Louis in 1770, when she was 14 years old and four years before he became the king.
Q: Was Marie Antoinette popular at first?
A: Although she was not unpopular at first, many people in France did not want the country to have an Austrian queen due to France's alliance with Austria being unpopular.
Q: What caused her to become an unpopular symbol during the French Revolution?
A: During the French Revolution, there were rumours that she spent too much money, had lovers and supported France's enemies which caused her to become an unpopular symbol of the old French monarchy (Ancien Régime).
Q: Did Marie Antoinette really say "Let them eat cake"?
A: There is no evidence that Marie Antoinette said this phrase when learning that peasants were starving. Many of these rumours were started by other people at court where she had few friends.
Q: What caused the French Revolution?
A: It is not clear what caused the French Revolution but there were far bigger causes than her spending.
Q: How did Marie Antoinette die?
A: She helped plan a failed escape from Paris for herself and her family in 1791 which led many people to think they were plotting against elected governments. The royal family were arrested in 1792 and then Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine in 1793 nine months after her husband died by execution also.
