Historical Speech - Public Speaking - MARIE ANTOINETTE...

MARIE ANTOINETTE
Marie Antoinette and her husband, King Louis XVI (16th), are infamously
remembered for their scandalous reign of France in the 18th century. Nearly
everyone would agree that Marie Antoinette's tenure as the Queen of France was
outrageous at the very least. From excessively glamorous parties to alleged secret
affairs, the extravagant actions of Marie Antoinette and her husband put France in
severe debt and eventually led to the French Revolution, resulting in both their
executions and the abolishment of the French Monarchy.
Marie Antoinette was born in 1755 as the 15th daughter of Maria Teresa,
Empress of Austria. On May 16 1770, at age 14, she was married to 16 year old
Louis Auguste of France at the Palace of Versailles and, though it was expected of
them to consummate their marriage on their wedding night, they would not do so
until nearly 7 years afterwards. This would plague both their relationship and their
reputations for years to come. In the meanwhile, Marie Antoinette is widely
believed to have had an affair with Hans Axel von Fersen. The two met in 1774,
when they were both 18, and though it is not clear when the affair began, many
even believed it possible that he was the biological father of Marie's first son, who
was born in 1785, rather than Louis. Because Louis and Marie were rarely
affectionate, Marie Antoinette began to make up for it with excessive gambling,