A Royal Love: Louis and Antoinette
In honor of the last day in February, here is a short story of the love story between King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Although this pair started off as two foreigners to each other, their bond would hold them together in the most grievous hour. Let us take a moment and learn of this royal love.
King Louis XVI by Joesph Duplessis and Queen Marie Antoinette by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun.
On May 16, 1770, Dauphin Louis of France married Archduchess Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna (Marie Antoinette) in the Royal Chapel of Versailles. On their wedding night, the adolescents went to bed together, yet their marriage was not consummated. It is reported that either the Louis and Antoinette did not know what to do, or decided to remain platonic spouses as they grew to personally know each other. For the next years, the pair learned their likes and dislikes as they were young adults in a foreign relationship. In 1774, Louis and Antoinette became king and queen of France, following the death of King Louis XV. Since Antoinette was not accustomed to the French court, she found herself dismayed and wished for a simple life. To appease his wife, Louis gifted her the Petit Trianon, a small cottage near Versailles. While residing in this house, Antoinette wore simple chemise dresses and opened a secondary farmhouse to receive fresh milk and homegrown vegetables. During this time, she became close with her sister-in-law, Madame Élisabeth of France. On June 11, 1775 Louis was crowned king of France inside Rheims Cathedral. During this time, King Louis received word of a war for independence in the English occupied colonies in North America. Showing their belief in freedom, Louis and Antoinette provided funds, ships and weaponry to what would become the United States of America.
In 1777, Antoinette contracted measles and was held in quarantine. With Louis unable to visit her in the same room, he would wave to her under the royal windows, encouraging her with his husbandly support. During this time, the two became quite close in their relationship and following Antoinette's recovery, she would conceive a daughter. Born on December 19, 1778, Marie Thérèse brought joy to her father and mother. Although the court was worried that the child was a girl and not a boy to inherit the throne, Louis showed immense love to his child which gave Antoinette great relief. Together, Louis and Marie had five born children: Marie Thérèse, Dauphin Louis Joseph of France (born October 22, 1781), Louis Charles Duc’ de Normandy (born March 27, 1785) and Princess Sophie Hélène Beatrix (born July 9, 1786). It was reported that Louis and Antoinette were devoted and loving parents, choosing to raise their children with an appreciation for life and nature. Additionally, Antoinette raised her children to follow the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church of which she became a benefactress and supporter of the Catholic Carmelite Order.
Family portrait of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette holding their young son with close court members nearby. Artist anonymous, circa 1782.
Throughout the marriage, Louis and Antoinette were tested through anti-monarchist propaganda and the loss of several children. According to sources of the time, Antoinette suffered two miscarriages during her marriage which left her in a grievous state. Furthermore, their eldest son, Louis Joseph died of an illness at age seven and baby daughter Sophie Hélène Beatrix at eleven months old of tuberculosis. Both deaths led Louis and Antoinette to become closer to each other and convicted in their royal duties during such sorrow. Through these emotional events, Louis and Antoinette were reported to grow inseparable, growing stronger in their faith and bond as a couple.
Marie Antoinette with her children circa 1787 by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun.
Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Louis and Antoinette would lean on each other like never before. Through propaganda, slurs and threats against the royal family, Louis remained strong for his wife and two surviving children. On the night of June 20, 1791 Louis, Antoinette, their children and close family attempted to flee the revolution. With the help of Swedish count Alex von Fersen, the family fled from Tuileries Palace to the town of Varrenes. Eventually the family was found and apprehended by revolutionaries. Within time, Louis was placed in a separate cell in the Temple Prison and condemned to death. In this same year, 1792, Louis and Antoinette saw each other for the last time. Their final goodbye was reported to be emotional and heartbreaking. By January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed by guillotine and upon receiving word, Antoinette collapsed in complete despair. Following her husband's execution, the former queen was separated from her children and moved to the Conciergerie. In response to the events, Antoinette stated to the revolutionaries: “I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long.” With her hair turned white, arms bound and children unable to say goodbye, Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793.
Following their execution, both remains of Louis and Antoinette were throne into a mass grave and covered in quicklime. In 1815, the Bourbon Restoration excavated the remains and the royal couple were given a Catholic burial in Saint Denis Basilica, whereupon they lay in peace to this day.
Monument of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette inside Saint Denis Basilica.
All pictures/portraits do not belong to me.
References:
Daughter of the Caesars by Elena Maria Vidal
The French Revolution by Nesta Helen Webster
The Guillotine and the Cross by Warren H. Carroll
I enjoy reading your essays. I watched with regret what happened to you on Twitter; I won't comment on the nature of the dispute, but just the online social phenomenon of piling on and mob shaming is troubling.
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