In 1781, Marie gave birth to Louis Joseph, who became his father’s heir, a role known as the “dauphin.” Marie was devoted to her children, although she was often prevented from handling their day-to-day care due to strict royal protocol. While she was not the hoped-for son, Marie Therese provided much-needed emotional support for her mother, whose seemingly frivolous appearance and spending masked deep loneliness and insecurities.įarewells of Louis XVI to his family on Januat the Temple. It wasn’t until 1778, four years after they had assumed the French throne, that their first child was born. Royal courts were notoriously gossipy, none more-so than intrigue-filled Versailles, and Marie and Louis were harangued with advice and criticism about their supposed biological “failure” - with Marie’s brother dispatched to give the young king some step-by-step sexual advice. But the marriage went unconsummated for several years, due to either a physical issue on Louis’ part or a psychological one. The newlyweds both knew that Marie’s primary duty as a wife was to produce a male heir. The couple wed in 1770 when she was just 14 and Louis just 15. The 15th of 16 children born to Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Marie was betrothed to the heir to the French throne while still a child. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette struggled to start a family Watch the PBS Special Marie Antoinette, the Oscar-winning film Marie Antoinette staring Kirsten Dunst, or the documentary The Secret Versailles of Marie Antoinette. The French Revolution would tear France - and Marie’s family - apart, leading to the deaths of Louis, Marie and their son, and leave their sole surviving child to cope with the trauma and tragedy of family’s fate. But she was also a devoted mother to her four children, who provided emotional solace for the troubled queen. Marie Antoinette has been portrayed as the spendthrift wife who meddled in the political affairs of her weak-willed husband, Louis XVI.
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