How Did Marie Antoinette Cause The French Revolution

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Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria. She was the child of Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I, and the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa, making Marie an Austrian princess. By the age of 15, she was married to Louis XVI (16th), to seal the alliance between longtime enemies, Austria and France. Queen Marie Antoinette was in the first estate and lived at the Palace of Versailles, a royal palace built by Louis XIII (13th) in 1624 as a hunting lodge of brick and stone, and designed by the architect Jacques Lemercier. Not many people liked Marie; she was considered selfish and immoral. She lived extravagantly and encouraged her husband to resist reform of the monarchy. Also, she allegedly responded to the French peasantry having no bread by callously replying, “Let them eat cake.” She wore flour in her hair while some people went without eating, she was considered a “shoe hound” when there were people that couldn’t afford shoes, and some believe that her spending was one of the causes of the French Revolution. …show more content…
Among the charges were incest, treason, and adultery. She was found guilty on all charges and was sent to the guillotine. Before her execution, Charles Henri Sanson, her executioner, had cut off Marie’s hair, which was nearly four feet high. Her last words were "Pardon me, sir, I did not mean to do it." She had said these words because she accidentally stepped on the executioner's foot. Following her execution, Marie was placed in a coffin and dumped into a common grave behind the Church of the Madeleine. In 1815, King Louis XVIII (18th) ordered the bodies of his older brother, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette to be given a proper burial next to other French royals inside the Basilica Cathedral of