Most likely, Antonia would not have been selected to fulfill this duty, but her older, eligible sisters had died from an outbreak of smallpox. Her mother Maria Theresa, acting as queen after the death of the emperor, planned to unite Austria with its former enemy France through marriage. She liked playing music and dancing and was reportedly very talented at both. Unlike Louis-Auguste, who had a rather austere upbringing, she was a very social child with a close family and many friends. Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna was born in Vienna, the beautiful daughter of Emperor Francis I. This brother died young, however, and Louis-Auguste the loner was thrust into a public role as the heir apparent to the throne. His grandfather, the king, considered him “ungainly” and “dimwitted” kinder appraisers regarded him as shy and withdrawn, living in the shadow of an attractive older brother being groomed for the crown.
Louis-Auguste was not a promising specimen. This was the case for Louis-Auguste, third son of the dauphin of France, grandson of King Louis XV. Governments interested in forming alliances with other countries would as a matter of course attempt to unite their leaders with the offspring of other royalty. In the days of the European monarchies, marriage was less a matter of personal inclination than political expediency. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were barely in their teens when they married Today, on the anniversary of King Louis XVI's execution in 1793, we spotlight some facts about him and his wife Marie Antoinette that may help to add a human dimension to our understanding of these often maligned historical figures. Kings and queens, living on a large stage, experience more spectacular successes and more dramatic failures than most of us, but ultimately they are just people. History is made by people – people who have likes and dislikes, who love and hate, who possess virtues as well as flaws. Yet, this tidbit of misinformation has defined her for generations. For instance, Marie Antoinette, forever identified with the contemptuous phrase “Let them eat cake,” never actually spoke those words. In fact, sometimes it doesn’t deliver a very accurate picture at all. This historical shorthand may be the best we can do when we’re trying to absorb the whole of human history, but it doesn’t present us with a very well-rounded picture of an era or its important actors. Or, maybe we recall their blasé attitude towards the working poor, as reflected in Marie Antoinette’s famous quip, “Let them eat cake.” Some of us may think immediately of the grim machine responsible for the royal couple’s untimely end, the guillotine. Perhaps we think of the couple’s ostentatious wealth, as exemplified by their palace at Versailles. The reign of Louis XVI, the final Bourbon king of France, was a varied and eventful one, but when we think of him and his queen Marie Antoinette, certain associations inevitably pop into our minds.
0 kommentar(er)
