Marie Antoinette (l. 1755-1793) was the queen of France during the turbulent final years of the Ancien Régime and the subsequent French Revolution (1789-1799). With the ascension of her husband Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792), she became queen at the age of 18 and would shoulder much of the blame for the perceived moral failures of the French monarchy.
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Definition
Timeline
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2 Nov 1755Marie Antoinette, future queen of France, is born in Vienna, Austria.
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May 1770Marie Antoinette, aged 14, is married to the 15-year-old dauphin, the future King Louis XVI of France.
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Apr 1777Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, visits France to help fix the troubled marriage of his sister Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI of France.
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19 Dec 1778Queen Marie Antoinette of France gives birth to her first child, daughter Marie-Thérèse, eight years after she married Louis XVI of France.
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29 Nov 1780Death of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in Vienna, aged 63.
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1783Queen Marie Antoinette of France begins an affair with Count Axel von Fersen, the origin of many rumors and gossip accusing her of sexual depravity.
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1784 - 1786The affair of the diamond necklace permanently destroys the reputation of Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
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4 Jun 1789The death of Louis-Joseph, the 7-year-old dauphin of France, is overshadowed by the dramatic events of the Estates-General.
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Oct 1789The Women's March on Versailles increases demand for a French constitutional monarchy, relocates the royal family to the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
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20 Jun 1791 - 21 Jun 1791The Flight to Varennes, an attempted escape by the French royal family from Paris, is foiled; public disdain for the monarchy increases.
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27 Aug 1791The Declaration of Pillnitz is issued by Austria and Prussia, threatening war against France should any harm befall the French royal family.
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20 Apr 1792Revolutionary France declares war on Austria, sparking the War of the First Coalition.
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13 Aug 1792The family of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette are imprisoned in the Tower of the Temple.
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21 Sep 1792The National Convention abolishes the French Monarchy during the French Revolution.
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21 Jan 1793King Louis XVI of France, now known as Citizen Louis Capet, is executed by guillotine.
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14 Oct 1793 - 15 Oct 1793Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal. She is found guilty of high treason and is sentenced to death.
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16 Oct 1793Marie Antoinette is executed by guillotine at the Place de la Révolution.
