What made Marie Antoinette unlikable?

Answer 1

The French people didn't like Marie Antoinette for several reasons.

In the years of Marie Antoinette's reign, the American War of Independence occurred. The French had been long term enemies of the British, who were on the opposing side to the Americans. Marie Antoinette's husband, King Louis XVI, decided to send soldiers over to America to help fight for Independence, not because he wanted to help them, but to 'get one over on the British.' Because of these foreign ventures taxes were raised, the French people already paid high taxes and soon it became hard to buy food and to pay their rent. What does Marie Antoinette have to do with this?

The French people knew that whilst they starved and lived through poverty, Queen Marie was living a life of luxury in Versailles. Rumours started to spread that she didn't care about her peoples trouble, which of course was untrue, Marie Antoinette supported numerous charities throughout her life. One rumour went around that when the Queen was told of the suffering she laughed and said 'Let them eat Cake.' This was also untrue, but it infuriated the people more.

The Queen also had a fondness of gambling and spending money that France didn't have. She often bought new shoes and clothes that she didn't need and sometimes never wore. The Queen enjoyed these activities so much because they meant an escape from the rules and regulations that were expected of her as Queen. She was married at the age of 14 and thrown into these strange customs and rules. It was all very overwhelming for her, and so gambling and spending became a retreat. And as most people will know, habits are very hard to break.

It wasn't Marie Antoinette's fault for all the problems that France faced. Her husband didn't want her to know about the problems that went on outside of Versailles gates and so she was ignorant, though it wasn't her fault. The French people wanted to believe that their Queen was a greedy, selfish, ignorant. In the past Queens had advised the Kings, but even if she had have known what was going on outside of Versailles, she was powerless, Louis XVI would have ignored her as he did his other good advisers.

So in summary, Marie Antoinette was unpopular with the French people because of her gambling and spending habits, her ignorance to their plights and the fact that she had no influence over her husband. It seems a bit harsh to chop her head off though, seeing as most of these problems weren't actually her fault!