Women who shook the world: A Prisoner of Fate
A coquette and a fashionista, Marie Antoinette accepted her death like a queen...
November 2, 1755 – October 16, 1793
Parisian executioner Sanson saw different people on his scaffold and there was little to surprise him, but the last words of the Queen of France made him freeze. "Forgive me, monsieur, I didn't mean to," Marie Antoinette apologized, accidentally stepping on the executioner's foot. The Queen was guillotined almost a year after the execution of her husband Louis XVI. She spent all this time in a solitary prison cell. No one tried to save the one who was called the "sun of the French crown" for her easy disposition and affability.
Princess
Marie Antoinette was the fifteenth child of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. She was born the day after the terrible earthquake that wiped Lisbon off the face of the earth. The courtiers whispered that this was a bad omen, because the king and queen of Portugal had been designated as godparents to the princess in advance. The girl was neither clever nor beautiful, but her natural charm attracted hearts to her. At the age of 10, she already knew that she would be a queen, and after another five, fate showed her a new homeland – France. King Louis XV was enchanted by his daughter-in-law, around whom a brilliant court was taking shape. And she was considered merciful and generous by the people.
Queen
Marie Antoinette loved dresses and could leave a state reception to discuss a new silhouette with a milliner. Each dress from her wardrobe was worn only once, and sometimes she changed three or four outfits a day. The ladies followed the Queen's example in everything. After giving birth, her hair began to fall out. Then Marie Antoinette cut them off, and since the wig seemed too heavy to her, she introduced short hair, simple styling and straw hats that cost a fortune. Louis XVI adored his wife. As soon as someone noticed that the queen was too wasteful, the "rebel" was fired.
The prisoner
On July 14, 1789, angry crowds of Parisians took to the streets. The aristocrats fled the capital in fright. The palace was empty. Louis and his family were also advised to leave. But he did nothing. Only two years later, the royal family tried to flee to Austria. It's unfortunate. Then there was the execution of the king, separation from the children, and a solitary cell in which a guard sat instead of a maid all the time. It was the Queen's turn. The scaffold was erected on Revolution Square (now Place de la Concorde), the same place where the celebrations for the wedding of the young Marie Antoinette took place twenty years earlier. Executioner Sanson shows the severed head of the queen to the crowd
Style Icon
Marie Antoinette introduced the fashion for cleanliness. She took a bath every day and demanded the same from the courtiers.
In 2011, the Luben perfume house created the fragrance "Black Jade", repeating the queen's perfume, which she kept in a jade bottle. It is said that it was this fragrance that gave away the royal family during their flight abroad. Marie Antoinette with her children, daughter Marie–Therese-Charlotte and son Louis-Joseph-XaviefRancois, was depicted in a portrait painted in 1785. Anyone planning to join an online betting platform should spend a few moments reviewing the available promotional offers before making the initial deposit. Using the promo code for 1xbet at the appropriate stage of registration gives eligible newcomers access to a 100% welcome bonus of up to €130, providing extra balance that can be used across a wide selection of sporting events.