' MARIE ANTOINETTE, !WWI in-toi-nee (Fr. ma-re an-twa-net), queen of France: b. Vienna, Austria, 2 Nov. 1755; d. Paris, 16 Oct. 1793. She was the daughter of the Emperor Francis I and the celebrated Maria Theresa. She left Vienna for Versailles in 1770, when only 15, to marry the young Due de Berri, after ward Louis XVI of France. When her hus band ascended the throne in 1774, she gained the affections of the people by repeated acts of generosity. It was, however, soon observed that her natural freedom of manner brought on her the criticism of enemies about the court. It was thought, too, as many believe, with reason, that she was to a certain extent controlled by her mother as an Austrian spy. An extraordi nary occurrence added fresh force to calumny and tarnished the fair name of the queen, who was not to blame. This was the affair of the "Diamond Necklace," in which the Cardinal Louis de Rohan, the magician Cagliostro and the Countess de Lamotte were the chief actors. It was certain that Marie Antoinette had great influence over the king, and that she constantly opposed such measures of reform and economy as had been proposed. Her extravagance was regarded by the people as one of the chief causes of their poverty. Her unpopularity, in creased, and the general indignation was raised to the highest pitch by the enthusiastic reception given her at the banquet on 1 Oct. 1789, where the white Bourbon cockades were worn and the national cockade trampled under foot. The in surrection of women, the attack on Versailles and the transfer of the royal family to Paris followed in a few days. It was the queen who
advised the flight of the royal family from Paris to join Bouille s army in June 1791, which ended in their capture at Varennes. From that time they were viewed as traitors. On 10 Aug. 1792, the •last day of the royalty, the queen exerted all her power to induce the king to resistance. This he thought was vain, and he was led with his consort before the Legislative Assembly. She heard his deposition announced, and then ac companied him to the prison of the Temple. There, deprived of every semblance of royalty, she displayed magnanimity and patient endu rance. In August 1793, she was removed to the Conciergerie, and in October was brought be fore the revolutionary tribunal. She was charged with having dissipated the finances, ex hausted the public treasury, corresponded with foreign enemies of France and favored its do mestic foes. She replied with firmness and de cision, and heard her sentence pronounced with perfect calmness. On the same day she wts guillotined. Marie Antoinette's faults were due in great measure to her defective education and difficult position. Her expiation of them made her a general object of pitying interest. Con sult Lescure, (La vraie Marie Antoinette' (1863) ; Campan, 'The Private Life of Marie Antoinette' (1887) ; Bicknell, 'The Story of Marie Antoinette) (1897) ; Belloc, H., 'Marie Antoinette' (1909) ; Heidenstam, O. G., 'Marie Antoinette, Ferson et Bernave: leur Corre spondance' (Paris 1913).