During the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette was beheaded in 1793. She and her husband had four children together who were born before the French Revolution. However, only one of them made it to adulthood.
So, Marie Antoinette and her husband, Louis XVI, were married for seven years before finally consummating their marriage. He became the King of France in 1774. Marie was known for her beauty and for setting fashion trends.
But while she was busy spending heaps of money on luxuries, the rest of the country was starving. And, it didn’t help that Louis XVI kept sending money abroad to support the American Revolution.
The working class was being forced to bear the burden of growing taxes, and there were not enough crops to go around. By the late 1780s, the French were angry and pointed the finger at Marie.
On July 14, 1789, the Storming of the Bastille occurred, and by October, Marie and her family were moved to the Tuileries in Paris and placed under house arrest.
The King was deposed in 1792, and the family was imprisoned in the Temple in Le Marais. He was executed on January 21, 1793. Ten months later, Marie was beheaded as well. Over the years, most of their children suffered awful fates as well.
Marie Thérèse
Marie Antoinette’s first child was a girl named Marie Thérèse. She was born on December 9, 1778, after 12 hours of labor. She was the only kid to survive to adulthood. When her parents were executed, she was left to bear the trauma of her family’s fate on her own. She remained in the Temple prison before her release in December 1795.
Soon, she married the Duc d’Angoulême, nephew to the new King. Unfortunately, her marriage was an unhappy one. She was bitter and resentful and had to spend most of her life exiled from France. She finally died at the age of 72 in October 1851.
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Louis Joseph
Louis Joseph was the King’s male heir, born in 1781. Sadly, he had poor health and died of tuberculosis in June 1789, just one month before the Storming of the Bastille. He was only seven years old.
Louis Charles
Born in March 1785, Louis Charles was originally set to become the Duke of Normandy. But after his brother died, he became the new heir to the throne. He was still recognized as the heir following his father’s execution. He was removed from his mother’s care shortly before her own execution. He was also pressured to give false testimony about his mother.
Louis Charles died at the age of 10, most likely of tuberculosis and the poor conditions in prison. The coroner who performed his autopsy preserved his heart and kept it hidden away for years. The organ was sent to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in 1975.
Sophie
Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrix, or just Sophie, was born prematurely on July 9, 1786. She died 11 months later in June 1787. Her cause of death was most likely tuberculosis.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
