| Daughter of Holy Roman Empress, Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette ill-starred tenure as Queen of France was marked by her subjects' intense dislike for her. Though reputed to possess the strength and dignity befitting her status, she was more widely known for excesses of extravagance and her seeming inability to appreciate the financial difficulties of many Frenchmen. She allied herself with those forces who lobbied against change for the country. As the country roiled with revolutionary unrest, her indecisive husband could not save the monarchy. Louis was executed in early 1793; Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine in October of that year. |
