Born Archdutchess of Austria on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria to the Emperor and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Marie Antoinette believed she was destined to rule over France. In 1770, at age 15, Marie married the prince of France, who was crowned King Louis XVI of France. Marie had trouble concieving a boy, but she had a firstborn daughter named Marie Therese, after her grandmother, and later a boy named Louis XVII. Marie Antoinette is most known for her vanity and eccentricity. She was fond of jewels and expensive clothing, for both herself and her friends. One of the more well-known things about here was that her hair was always piled high on her head, and sometimes there were mosaics and paintings in her hair. She even had a 'small' cottage built on the land of Château de Versailles called Petit Trianon. However, contradictory to this belief, Queen Marie tried to help the financial crisis by trying to reduce the household staff of the Château de Versailles, therefore enraging the nobility who believed it was their right to be at the Château. The nobility schemed ways to reduce the support of the king and queen and to find was to induce hate into the French people.
Riots outside of the Château forced the King and Queen to flee Versailles to the Palais de Tuileries. These riots were the spur of the French Revolution, which began in 1789. They were caused by a deteriorating French economy and lack of bread, due to bad harvests at the time. A famous quote from Queen Marie Antoinette, though whether fact or not, was, "Oh? No bread? Well, let them have cake."
After the move to Tuileries, the king and queen were held captive. Marie sought help from her family and others, but none came. War was declared upon France by Austria and Prussia. Marie tried to win their help by trading military secrets, but the royal family was arrested on suspicion of treason on August 10, 1792. The death of King Louis XVI occurred on January 21, 1793 by being beheaded by the guillotine, a gruesome new invention of the French. Queen Marie followed her husband to death on October 16, 1793 after being tortured beforehand, at the age of 37. Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie Therese, was the only survivor of the family.