MARIA ANTONIETTA, queen of FRANCE. — Daughter of Francis of Lorraine and Maria Theresa of Habsburg, born in Vienna on 2 Nov. 1755. In 1770 she married Louis, second Dauphin of France, and in 1776, upon the death of Louis XV, became queen of France. For several years she was idolised by the French people, especially after the birth of the Dauphin. But the setbacks suffered by France’s interests through the policy of agreements with the government of Vienna (Family Compact) created such discontent in France that M. A. was held responsible for this policy.
The carefree life of the court at Versailles, while the country’s economic situation worsened, turned popular hatred against M. A. The Queen failed to react against the corrupt environment; in the revolutionary crisis that began in 1789 she was unable to assist the weak Louis XVI with prudent advice: she was not even aware of the serious situation. Her attempts to flee, to find support abroad, and her political intrigues compromised her definitively. Arrested with the King during the revolutionary journée of 10 Aug. 1792, she was imprisoned in the Temple and, after a farcical trial, was guillotined on 16 Oct. 1793.