Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Louis XVI (born Louis-Auguste; August 23, 1754–January 21, 1793) was the French king whose reign collapsed because of the French Revolution.Louis-Auguste, the future Louis XVI, was born on August 23, 1754. His father, Louis, Dauphin of France, was the heir to the French throne. Louis-Auguste was the oldest son born to his father to survive childhood; when his father died in 1765, he became the new heir to the throne. At age 15 in 1770, he married 14-year-old Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor.
When Louis XV died in 1774, Louis succeeded him as Louis XVI, aged 19. He was an expert on the French Navy and a devotee of mechanics and engineering, although this may be overemphasized by historians.
As Queen of France, Marie Antoinette had no official role and no legitimate political power.
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. She became dauphine of France in May 1770 at age 14 upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne. On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI and she became queen.
The French Revolution
Mid-18th Century France was formally divided into three legal categories known as "Estates." Included in the First Estate were members of the clergy; in the Second, the nobility; and in the Third, the rest of the population. Members of the First and Second Estates enjoyed many privileges – among them, immunity from taxation, a monopoly over offices, and entitlements of various pensions, all of which had the effect of placing a great burden on the Third Estate to support the monarchy and clergy.
In 1789, to avert the deepening crisis, Louis agreed to summon the 'estates-general' (a form of parliament, but without real power) in order to try and raise taxes. This was the first time the body had met since 1614. Angered by Louis' refusal to allow the three estates - the first (clergy), second (nobles) and third (commons) - to meet simultaneously, the Third Estate proclaimed itself a national assembly, declaring that only it had the right to represent the nation.
Rumours that the king intended to suppress the assembly provoked the popular storming of the Bastille prison, a symbol of repressive royal power, on 14 July 1789. In October, Louis and his family were forced by the mob to return to Paris from their palace at Versailles. In June 1791, they attempted to escape, which was considered proof of Louis' treasonable dealings with foreign powers. He was forced to accept a new constitution, thereby establishing a constitutional monarchy.
Nonetheless, against a background of a military defeat by Austria and Prussia, the revolutionary leadership was becoming increasingly radicalised. In September 1792, the new National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Louis was found guilty of treason and executed at the guillotine on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette was executed nine months later.
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