Daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette married the future Louis XVI in 1770 and became queen in 1774. Her influence over court patronage made her politically important, while hostile pamphlets portrayed her as sexually corrupt, extravagant and controlled by Austrian interests. She did not accept the Revolution’s claims to national sovereignty or its restrictions on royal power. After 1789 she nevertheless negotiated with Mirabeau and Barnave in efforts to preserve the monarchy, while secretly seeking foreign pressure to strengthen the crown. Imprisoned after 10 August 1792, she was convicted of conspiracy and intelligence with France’s enemies and executed on 16 October 1793.
