The wedding of Marie Antoinette and Louis Capet
Marie Antoinette (1755 - 1793)
King Louis XVI of France (1754 - 1793)
May 16th 1770: Wedding of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
On this day in 1770, the French noble Marie Antoinette married the heir to the French throne, Louis Capet, at Versailles. The former was the daughter of the Austrian archduchess and the Holy Roman Emperor, and the marriage was arranged to strengthen the relationship between former rivals Austria and France. Their lavish wedding was attended by 5,000 guests, with 200,000 watching the fireworks display which capped the festivities. Perhaps due to their young ages - Marie was fourteen and Louis was fifteen - the marriage was not consummated for seven years. In 1774, after four years of marriage, French King Louis XV died, and his son ascended to the throne as King Louis XVI, with Marie crowned as queen. The monarchs proved controversial figures, with Louis struggling to deal with the affairs of the crown, and Marie drawing criticism for her extravagant tastes (earning the nickname ‘Madame Déficit’) and devotion to Austrian interests. Both opposed monarchical reform, a stance which spelled their doom as the French Revolution began. In the midst of the unrest, Marie and Louis attempted to flee to Austria in 1791, but were apprehended and returned to Paris. The royal couple were imprisoned in 1792, and the monarchy was abolished in the same year. For his efforts to thwart the revolution, King Louis XVI was tried for treason and executed by guillotine in January 1793. In October of that year, Marie Antoinette was also convicted of treason and faced death at the guillotine. Their deaths were turning points in the French Revolution, and indeed in the history of France.
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