Born: November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria Died: October 16, 1793 in Paris, France
Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna, better known as Marie Antoinette, was the 15th and second to last child of Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.
She was the last queen of France who helped provoke the popular unrest that led to the French Revolution and to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792.
Antoinette became a symbol of the excesses of the monarchy and is often credited with the famous quote ‘Let them eat cake’ – but there is no evidence she actually said it.
Married to Louis XVI, she was said to be very different in character from her husband. While he was introverted and shy, she was a social butterfly who loved gambling, partying and extravagant fashions.
In the later years of her life she spent progressively more time at her private castle, the Petit Trianon in the grounds of the Château de Versailles, without the king.
As she became increasingly solitary, rumours surfaced about her relationship with Swedish diplomat Count Axel von Fersen.
She was used as a pawn on the diplomatic chessboard of Europe as France and Austria attempted to navigate the complex web of allegiances that shaped the continent in the wake of the Seven Years’ War.
Antoinette was beheaded nine months after her husband by order of the Revolutionary tribunal aged just 37.
Sources: Biography.com and Britannica