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Marie Antoinette has been portrayed as the spendthrift wife who meddled in the political affairs of her weak-willed husband, Louis XVI . But she was also a devoted mother to her four children—Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, Louis-Joseph, Louis-Charles, and Sophie—who provided emotional solace for the troubled French queen.

The French Revolution would tear France—and Marie’s family—apart, leading to the deaths of Louis, Marie, and one of their sons. In the end, their sole surviving daughter was left to cope with the trauma and tragedy of family’s fate.

Watch the PBS Special Marie Antoinette , the Oscar-winning film Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst, or the documentary The Secret Versailles of Marie Antoinette .

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI Struggled to Start

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