Antoinette, Marie

(1755-1793)

   She was born at the Hapsburg Palace in Vienna as Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Hapsburg-Lorraine, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his wife, the Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. In 1770, at age fourteen, she was sent to France to marry the grandson of King Louis XV, Dauphin Louis-Auguste in 1770. In 1774, upon the death of King Louis, she and her young husband became king and queen of France. Rose Bertin, designer to the court, created Marie's magnificent coronation gown. During her reign as the queen of France (1774-1793), she and King Louis XVI strongly promoted French fashion and textiles. Their excesses and spendthriftiness resulted in rumors and bankruptcy and fueled the French Revolution, which ultimately led to their demise.