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Marie Antoinette is one of the most famous and most controversial Queens of all time. She is often credited with saying the famous phrase “If they have no bread, then let them eat cake!” Oddly enough, there is no evidence that Marie Antoinette ever uttered those words.

Marie Antoinette was born November 2, 1755 as Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen. She was an Austrian Archduchess, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. At the young age of fourteen she was married to Louis XVI, the grandson of King Louis XV of France. Upon the death of King Louis XV, Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI became the new King and Queen of France. Marie Antoinette was only nineteen years old when she became Queen.

During her reign as Queen she became known as an extravagant woman who spent excessive amounts of money on clothing, furniture, gambling and diamonds. Rumors of the Queen’s spending habits, and those of the Royal Court, began to circulate among the French. With the French government in tremendous debt and the people of France in need of bread, the people of France began to develop a less favorable image of the Queen and the Monarchy.

On July 14, 1789 a mob of Parisian citizens took control of the Bastille Prison in Paris. This marked the beginning of the French Revolution. In the following months angry citizens of Paris mobbed the Palace of Versailles (see photo) and forced the royal family to Paris. During this time of revolution the Queen became the most hated member of the Royal family and was often viewed as “the Austrian woman.”

After an attempted escape from France that turned wrong, the royal family was held captive for several years until they were put on trial for treason. After Marie Antoinette’s short and unfair trial she was condemned to death. Marie Antoinette was beheaded on October 16th, 1793 at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

As with most popular historical figures, the character of Marie Antoinette had appeared in many movies. Sofia Coppola recently directed a film titled Marie Antoinette with a planned release date in the Fall of 2006. Coppola’s film, starring Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, is said to be an adaptation of Antonia Fraser’s biography titled The Journey.