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The Truth About Marie Antoinette - Page 2

© Sharon K. West

Marie's first years at court were quite different than those she had known in Vienna. The court of Versailles was more formal, and at times, to my dismay, she yawned and giggled and yearned to get away on her own. She even refused to wear corsets and stays.

Louis XV died in 1774, and the new Louis XVI was young and unprepared to govern. He had a total lack of decisiveness and personal presence required for a king, but in 1777, Louis XVI had minor surgery which enabled him to finally father children and remove that stigma from my Lady.

Marie's mother, Maria Theresa, wrote letters advising the queen, but for a time, Marie did not listen. She continued to be interested only in fashion, hairstyles and spending enormous sums on pleasure. As I stood back and helplessly watched, she did become unpopular and hated, yet it was Louis XVI himself who gave her the responsibility for entertaining the court. And such royal entertainment it was! Grand balls, theatres and musical repertoires that made the court come alive. This led to even more scandalous stories of affairs. Alas, Marie was the subject of pornographic songs and pictures. Her enemies published a so-called autobiography in which they wrote that she called herself a prostitute. Lies, they were all lies! Even more lies about my Lady were written in other pamphlets distributed by enemies in the court.

The truth was after the birth of her two children, Marie had begun to mature. She wore simpler gowns and spent less. She was a devoted wife and mother and posed for portraits with her children, but nothing could improve her image with the public. Her excesses were never forgotten and were vastly blown out of proportion by her enemies. She was called Madame Deficit and blamed for the country's financial problems. On the contrary, however, when the queen learned that France's financial situation was in crisis, she reduced the royal household staff, but this action further offended the nobles since many positions she eliminated were based entirely on privilege. Remember this, Anna, that it was the nobles who resisted the financial reforms, not the king and queen. They were in favor of change. The Revolutionaries blamed the country's financial problems entirely on Marie's extravagance.

The greatest damage to my Lady's reputation was what came to be known as, "The Diamond Necklace Affair." Oh, that woman, Jeanne de La Motte! She offered to help Cardinal de Rohan improve his social status at Versailles. She told him to meet the queen in the gardens of Versailles one night, but Jeanne hired a woman to dress like Marie Antoinette and pose as the queen. This imposter gave the Cardinal a rose and departed, making him think he had actually met her. Then Jeanne de La Motte told the cardinal that the queen wanted him to purchase a diamond necklace for her. The cardinal purchased the necklace and gave it to Jeanne, expecting the queen to pay for it, but Jeanne gave it to her husband who took it to London and sold it. When the jeweler demanded payment, it became public knowledge, and the cardinal and Jeanne de La Motte were arrested. The cardinal was acquitted, but Jeanne was imprisoned, publicly flogged and branded. After her escape to London, she spread vicious rumors about the queen, but my Lady was innocent and had no knowledge of the entire affair.

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