MARIA ANTONIETTA, queen of FRANCIA. - Daughter of Francesco di Lorena and Maria Teresa d'Asburgo, born in Vienna on 2 Nov. 1755. In 1770 she married Luigi, second dauphin of France, and in 1776, upon the death of Luigi XV, became queen of France. For several years she was idolized by the French people, especially after the birth of the Dauphin. But the setbacks suffered by French interests as a result of the policy of agreements with the government of Vienna (family compact) created such discontent in France that M. A. came to be regarded as responsible for that policy.
The carefree life of the court at Versailles, while the country’s economic situation worsened, drew popular hatred upon M. A. The Queen was unable to react against the corrupt milieu; in the revolutionary crisis that began in 1789, she was unable to assist the weak Luigi XVI with prudent counsel: she was not even aware of the gravity of the situation. The attempts to flee, to find support abroad, and the political intrigues compromised her definitively. Arrested with the King during the revolutionary day of 10 Aug. 1792, she was confined in the Temple and, after a derisory trial, was beheaded on 16 Oct. 1793.
(from S. Zweig, M. A., Milano 1923, fasc. between pp. 106 and 117)
MARIA ANTONIETTA, queen of FRANCIA. M. A. on the cart taking her to the scaffold. Sketch by L. David.