Her contemporaries Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Jefferson blamed Marie Antoinette for the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Some thought she was sweet and innocent. Others thought she was an indulgent, materialistic, narcissistic pig in the fashion of today's Paris Hilton.
But she was also a wife, a mother, and a Queen. However, the Revolutionary Tribunal needed her dead. They trumped up charges of treason and even forced her young son to accuse her of child abuse. After a two day trial, she went to the guillotine at the age of 38.
I appeal to all mothers in this audience."
--- Marie Antoinette to the Tribunal
While stepping up to the guillotine, she stepped on the foot of her executioner Sanson. "Monsieur, I beg your pardon," she said, "I did not do it on purpose." He didn't seem to mind. After the blade did its job, he picked up her severed head and showed it to the crowd. Cheers!
Marie Antoinette - wiki
French Revolution - wiki
Reign of Terror - wiki
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Marie Antoinette Online - marie-antoinette.org
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