April 19th, 1770
The Most Spectacular Royal Marriage Of The 18th Century
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna becomes Marie Antoinette
She was a pretty young thing, charming and a bit of a flake. What do you expect when you’re 14? She was the source of a constant headache for her stern and loving mother who happened to rule one of the largest empires in Europe, and because she was destined to be the future Queen of France. Maria Antonia’s mother knew how crucial a cool, calm, and considered manner would be to rule such a country.
The best tutors, the most gifted teachers, and dedicated governesses were not able to fill this pretty young thing’s head with more than the talent for dancing, singing, and playing a reasonably popular tune on the piano she naturally possessed. We all know it didn’t end well. Be that as it may, it all began with much pomp and party.
Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, the future Dauphine, and Louis, Dauphin of France, were married per procurationem or by proxy on April 19, 1770, in the evening in the Augustine Church of the Friars in Vienna. (I’ve been there. Worth a visit if you’re ever in Vienna.)
At six in the evening, wearing an opulent wedding gown of cloth of silver, Maria Antonia entered the church. Her proxy bridegroom was her older brother, Archduke Ferdinand. A lavish meal followed the ceremony and lasted several hours. (Can you imagine having to sit through a ‘lavish meal’ wearing a corset? I know the ladies of the day were used to it but it still must have been excruciating)
On April 21, at nine in the morning, Maria Antonia bid her family a tearful farewell and boarded the luxurious carriage that had been built especially for her journey from Austria to France.
“Farewell, my dearest child, a great distance will separate us…Do so much good for the French people that they can say I have sent them an angel,” her mother instructed.
The voyage of Marie Antoinette was a major social event of the time and the last major bridal voyage of the 18th century. Think Charles and Diana with Diana traveling by golden carriage across half of Europe, with people lining the roads the entire 1500 km. So, huge. The convoy to Strasbourg consisted of 235 people, a total of 57 carriages, most of which drove six-in-hand, and an additional 350 draft and riding horses. Including several rest days within the 17 daily routes, the journey of around 1500 kilometers took 24 days.
Arriving at the border to France, there was a ceremony where Maria Antonia entered a chamber on the Holy Roman Empire side, removed every last stitch of her Austrian-made clothing, down to her linen and lace underdrawers. She then stepped across the border (inside a covered pavilion of course)alone, to get re-dressed with clothes and undergarments all French-made. She emerged on the other side — on French soil — as Marie Antoniette. All the ladies-in-waiting and governesses from her childhood had to be left behind too. From then on, everything was à la française, including her personal inner circle.
“I shall never see my mother again,” she wept bitterly. And it was true.
Marie Antoinette was 14 years old, Louis 16 when they married. Louis and Antoinette didn’t consummate their marriage for seven years.
Buying me a coffee occasionally is most welcome ;)
