This was the case for Louis-Auguste, third son of the dauphin of France, grandson of King Louis XV. Her mother eventually sent Marie’s brother Joseph to town to find out what the problem was. What war bankrupted France during Louis XIV's reign? Flowers were almost an obsession with the queen, who papered her walls with flowered wallpaper, decorated all of her commissioned furniture with flower motifs (perhaps Louis should have put a daisy or two on that spinning wheel), and tended the real thing in her own personal flower garden on her mini-estate at Versailles, Petit Trianon. Later on, Louis had much worse luck with his old friend from the locksmith shop. When not pursuing animals in the field, he would often hunt and shoot the cats overrunning the Versailles grounds. Aside from lock making and reading, one of Louis’s greatest passions was hunting. Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette (Austrian name was Maria Antonia) on May 16, 1770. She became dauphine of France in May 1770 at age 14 upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne. On the big day, Louis donned a suit of silver, and Marie wore a lilac dress dripping with diamonds and pearls. Some ill-advised policies advanced by Louis did nothing to contradict this point of view. Joseph referred to the royals as “two complete blunderers” and didn’t discover any good reason why the sheets remained so cold in the royal bedchamber other than a lack of inclination or, perhaps, a lack of education. The Wedding of 14 year old Marie Antoinette to 15 year old Louis Auguste. He ascended the throne in 1774 as Louis XVI. He was not very prepared. … Marriage myths of a foppish Louis XVI and his Austrian queen are shattered by new research. How did Louis XVI(16) treat the people of France and what was his level of preparedness to become the King of France? Louis was born on August 23, 1754 in Versailles to parents Louis, the... See full answer below. Much of this character assassination was simply invented. One of the most troubling is the fate of Marie’s close friend, the Princess de Lamballe, who was superintendent of the royal household. As for chocolate, Marie had her own chocolate maker on the premises at Versailles. All of this slander would be so much hot air if it didn’t have real-life consequences. It’s unlikely that Louis would have tortured cats; he just didn’t seem to want them in his house. Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. Nervous about the revolutionary fervor bubbling up in France, Louis asked Gamain to craft an iron chest with a special lock to protect important papers. If his path in life hadn’t been preordained, it seems likely that Louis would have been a simple craftsman rather than a king. 2. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property … This historical shorthand may be the best we can do when we’re trying to absorb the whole of human history, but it doesn’t present us with a very well-rounded picture of an era or its important actors. At the time of his birth, Louis was third in line to the throne, behind his father and older brother. A marriage between the two royal houses had been planned since the early 1760s, but only came about in 1770. Because of this, the young prince was sidelined and not trained for royal duties. Louis-Auguste was not a promising specimen. French Royal Louis XVI of France was born Louis Auguste de France on 23rd August, 1754 in Palace of Versailles, France and passed away on 21st Jan 1793 Paris, France aged 38. Louis XVI had one of the most impressive personal libraries of his day, almost 8,000 carefully arranged volumes of bound leather. Most likely, Antonia would not have been selected to fulfill this duty, but her older, eligible sisters had died from an outbreak of smallpox. Learning Objective. He apologized profusely and bought the woman a new one. Other examples of her kindness abound. For a king who tried very hard to be popular and fair, asserting more than once that he “wanted to be loved” by the people, this development was dismaying. Unlike Louis-Auguste, who had a rather austere upbringing, she was a very social child with a close family and many friends. She became notorious for her pricey fashions and expensively sculpted hair. While none doubted his intellectual ability to rule France, it was … She established a home for unwed mothers; patronized the Maison Philanthropique, a society for the aged, widowed, and blind; and made frequent visits to poor families, giving them food and money. She died by the guillotine She was the last queen of France. Such personal indulgences no doubt added fire to the ire of the revolutionaries. Her favorite form of chocolate was in liquid form; she’d begin every day with a hot cup of chocolate with whipped cream, often enhanced by orange blossom. In the case of the royal couple, a long night stretched into seven years, a situation that not only personally distressed the members of the royal household, but which in time became a political liability. (Some historians have contended that this unique scent aided in the capture of the king and queen when they tried to flee to Austria during the height of the revolution.). King Louis XVI of France was 38 years old when he died. When Louis XVI acceded to the throne in 1774, he was nineteen years old. He took off his coat and his scarf and the headsman asked that he open his collar and extend his hands so that they could tie him up. By this time, Gamain had secretly joined the revolutionary cause. There are stories that Louis-Auguste may have been scratched by one of these cats as a child. In 1774, with the death of King Louis XV, Louis and Marie were crowned king and queen of France. Versailles. Political pamphleteers of the day did much to deride Marie Antoinette for her profligate spending habits, nicknaming her “Madame Déficit.” They often portrayed her as an ignorant woman who treated her social inferiors with disregard at best and contempt at worst. Several reasons have been proposed for the fact that the marriage went unconsummated for seven years. All Rights Reserved. The childlessness of the royal couple was no doubt responsible for the initial attacks, which focused just as frequently on Louis. Not yet 12 years old, she was promised to the future king of France. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. His zodiac sign is Leo. For instance, Marie Antoinette, forever identified with the contemptuous phrase “Let them eat cake,” never actually spoke those words. An early marriage was hardly surprizing among royals. Louis XVI was unprepared to be king. Each of these pioneers achieved a first for African Americans. 15. Who is Louis XVI's wife? As an Austrian princess, her marriage to the future French king was an excellent way to seal the newfound bond between their two countries. On 19 April the wedding took place by proxy in Vienna, marrying the Dauphin and future Louis XVI, the grandson of Louis XV, to Marie-Antoinette, the youngest daughter of Maria-Theresa of Habsburg. Photo: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images. After a show trial, she was marched into the streets and attacked by a violent mob. The Austrian alliance had pulled France into the unpopular Seven Years’ War, which led to France’s humiliating defeat by the British and Prussians. For pornographic publishers, vilifying the queen while also engaging in cheap (and profitable) titillation was a win-win situation. Louis XIV was crowned on June 7, 1654 and reigned as king of France for 61 years. He was married to a Austrian princes named Marie Antonitte . Marie became a scapegoat for the nation’s ills, her alleged moral failings representative of the monarchy’s evidently debauched character. Some wags wondered if the children were Louis’s, given Marie’s almost understandable interest in other men at court, but no one was able to prove otherwise. There were over 5,000 guests, and a crowd of 200,000 watched the concluding fireworks display. The future Louis XVI was born at Versailles in August 1754. A frustrated populace soon blamed the king and the nobility for inaction and revolutionary attitudes began to foment. Furthermore, Louis XV had allowed his cats to breed indiscriminately, and they overran the grounds at Versailles. A special tea set was dedicated to the purpose. The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. Key Points. 14 She Got Married At 14. 15. He was 15 years … The pontiff cited advanced age as the reason behind his shocking move in February 2013, though his decision may have been aided by the difficulties of bringing the Church into the 21st century. Seven Years War (French Indian War) After Louis XV's death, was Louis XVI ready to be king? One of the key reasons for royal marriages, however, was to produce heirs, and this was expected to happen with some alacrity. She liked playing music and dancing and was reportedly very talented at both. These drug traffickers live brutally violent and ruthless lives, which are much dirtier than Hollywood could ever depict. As time went on, however, speculations about the Queen’s love life independent of her husband became rife. 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