Archduchess von Austria Marie Antoinette
Born: 2 NOV 1755  Vienna, AUSTRIA      Sex: F
Died: 16 OCT 1793  Paris, FRANCE  Cause: guillotine

Relationship: 15. cousin 4+6 times removed, etc.
Ancestors:
Father: Holy Roman Emp Franz I Stephan de Lorraine Duke de Lorraine Leopold Joseph
Princess d'Orleans Elisabeth Charlotte
Child: Archduchess von Austria Marie Antoinette
Mother: Archduchess von Austria Maria Theresia Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI
Pss v Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel Elisabeth Christ
Marriage(s) and Relationships:
Married to: King de France Louis XVI   16 MAY 1770,   Versailles, FRANCE
       Child: Princess de France Maria Theresa
       Child: Dauphin de France Louis
       Child: Dauphin de France Louis XVII
       Child: Princess de France Sophie
Notes:
Source: Leo van de Pas. She was the youngest and favorite daughter of Francis 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). Court life bored the young queen so she amused herself and her friends with extravagant dress balls and theatricals. Marie Antoinette lavished money on her favorites while ignoring France's growing financial crisis. She would urge dismissal of ministers who tried to curb her frivolous spending. Marie Antoinette was blamed for corrupting the French court, and became very unpopular with the people of Paris. To be fair we should remember that Marie-Antoinette was quite young at the time, and an outsider in Paris. It would have been difficult for anyone, no matter how strong, to better her situation. In 1789 a desperate mob marched on the palace at Versailles and demanded the royal family move to the Tuilerie palace inside Paris. From that point on the King and Marie Antoinette were virtual prisoners. They might have rallied the people to a new constitutional monarchy similar to England's. Instead Marie Antoinette convinced her weak-willed husband to refuse concessions, and sought military aid from the other rulers of Europe. After a failed attempt to flee Paris in 1791 Marie Antoinette continued to seek aid from abroad. When Austria and Prussia declared war on France, she passed military secrets to the enemy. On August 10, 1792 the royal family was arrested on suspicion of treason and imprisoned. On January 21, 1793 King Louis XVI was convicted and executed on the guillotine. Marie Antoinette followed her husband to the guillotine on October 16, 1793. The Bourbon monarchy was restored in 1814 after the fall of Napoleon I. The succession went to the closest living relative of Louis XVI who became Louis XVIII (Louis XVI son, Louis XVII died in captivity after the revolution). He had escaped to Britain where he sat out the Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. The new monarchy had a bumpy road, lasting until 1848 and the ascension of Napoleon III. After Napoleon III abdicated in 1871, France became a republic. There is still a Bourbon pretender to the throne of France. This means that if France ever decided to become a monarchy again, he would step straight into the job.
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