French royalty, the favorite daughter of Emperor Francis I. She was known for a frivolous life style with court social life, gambling and games, gowns and jewels. Brought up in the hope that she might one day be queen of France, at 15, she married the crown prince who became King Louis XVI four years later.
The young queen was lively, witty and extravagant. When the stiff formalities of court life bored her, she amused herself with such pleasures as fancy balls, theatricals, attending the horse races and gambling. She lacked a good education and cared little for serious affairs. Giving no heed to the nation’s financial crisis, her frivolity and plotting helped undermine the monarchy and start the revolution.
Marie became very unpopular and was blamed for the corruption of the French court. False and vicious stories were told about her, even a rumor that she was a spy for Austria
In 1789 their eldest son died and the French Revolution began. The weak-willed Louis gradually lost control of the nation but Marie faced danger courageously. In October 1789 a hungry and desperate Parisian mob marched to Versailles and forced the royal family to move to the Tuileries palace in Paris, where they were virtual prisoners for the following three years. On 21 January 1793, her husband went to the guillotine; ten months later her turn came. After bravely enduring terrible hardships, Marie Antoinette was brought to trial on a charge of treason and on 16 October 1793, shortly after noon, she was beheaded in Paris, France.
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