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Marie Antoinette
was born November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria.
She was the youngest and most beautiful daughter
of Francis Stephen I and Maria Theresa, Emperor
and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. Marie
Antoinette was brought up believing her destiny
was to become queen of France. She married the
crown prince of France in 1770. Four years later
she became queen when her husband was crowned
King Louis XVI (House of Bourbon).As
Louis XVI's wife and mother of "lost
dauphin"
Louis XVII.
She was
vilified for her spending habits and opposition
to reforms. The 1785-86 Affair of the Diamond
Necklace, a
scandal in which she was accused of having an
affair with a cardinal, further discredited her
and reflected on the monarchy.
When the Bastille was stormed on July 14, 1789,
the queen urged the king to resist the
Assembly's reforms, making her even more
unpopular, and leading to the attribution to her
of the remark, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!"
-- "Let them eat cake!" Imprisoned with the
king, Marie Antoinette continued to plot. Her
unpopularity helped lead to the overthrow of the
monarchy in 1792.
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