Today in History: Marie Antoinette

So, a brief “today-in-history post,” if you will. Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was executed today, October 16, in 1793. Her execution followed the execution of King Louis XVI, a few months earlier. I know that historians are supposed to be unbiased, but I think it quite unfortunate that she was executed.

The French Revolutionaries, in my opinion, did have some just causes for staging a rebellion, but for the most part, it was all quite barbaric. The king and queen of France, in fact, had tried to sell much of the silverware from the Palace of Versailles to raise money for the poor and even donated, at one point, all of the flower from the royal pantries to the masses.

Marie Antoinette never, ever said “let them eat cake.” I do not know why that phrase has become circulated and attributed to her, but she never said it (it would be quite unfortunate for the thing that one is most known for saying to be something that they never even said).

Marie Antoinette was known as a gentle, well-mannered woman (she was pretty young when she was executed), and it was generally the failure of her advisors to inform her and her husband about the true state of affairs in France that was her downfall. In fact, she even maintained her mannerism on her execution day:

As she was giving her final monologue before the guillotine, she accidentally stepped on the executioner’s foot, so the words, “pardon me,” are formally included in the written recordings of her final speech.

In fact, now that I am on the topic, I should mention that one day, I probably will write a post on the French Revolution (which will likely be very, very long, as so much happened in that decade).