Most celebrated beauty of her Age. Fashion queen who came to be reviled for her careless opulence. Heroine, wife and mother who faced revolution...and loss of all she had and held dear...inspired by one man's love that would never forsake her.
Female
100 years old
Versailles, Ile-de-France
France
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New Film to be released soon about Count Axel von Fersen and Queen Marie Antoinette, entitled "Fersen". This is a Swedish-made film about the romantic relationship between
these two that had very obvious heart-felt feelings for
one another as is indicated in their written communications.
An allusion to this relationship appears in the private despatch of Count Creutz addressed to King Gustavus III on April 10, 1779
"I ought to confide to Your Majesty that the young Count Fersen has been so well received by the queen that this has given umbrage to several persons. I own that I cannot help thinking that she had a liking for him; I have seen too many indications to doubt it. The conduct of the young count has been admirable on this occasion for its modesty and its reserve, but above all, in the decision he made to go to America. By thus departing, he avoided all dangers; but it needed, evidently a firmness beyond his years, to surmount that seduction. The queen's eyes could not leave him, during the last days, and they often filled with tears. I entreat Your Majesty to keep this secret, for her sake and that of Senator Fersen. When the courtiers heard of Count Fersen's departure they were delighted. The Duchesse de Fitz-James said to him, 'Why! monsieur, is this the way you abandom your conquest?' 'If I had made one, I should not abandon it,' he replied. 'I go with freedom and unfortunately, I leave no regrets behind me.' Your Majesty will agree that that answer shows a wisdom and prudence beyond his years. In other respects, the queen behaves with much more reserve and wisdom than formerly. The king is not only quite submissive to her will, but he shares her tastes and pleasures."
The malice of disappointed courtiers was the origin of the calumnies against the queen though and it was very convenient to connect her with the young foreigner since there were some very strong heartfelt feelings between the two, although they kept them very well under control. Queen Marie-Antoinette's feelings for Count Axel von Fersen were definitely not one-sided.
Le Petit Trianon from the Gardens
Salon de Marie Antoinette
I always loved children and was so thankful when God blessed me with these. What joy they brought to my heart!!
What lovely times we have had together!! My every thought during the trials and tribulations we went through was of
their safety and welfare.
My Petit Hameau. This was a the place that I dearly loved to be. It was smaller than the Trianon and when here, I could feel relaxed. I loved to care for my animals and since I had a great love for medicinal herbs, I also kept an herb garden here.
Marie Therese and Louis Charles, two of my dear children.
My sweet son, Louis Joseph.
My baby Sophie Helene Beatrix.
My father, Emperor Francis Stephen.
My mother, Empress Maria Theresa.
This is a painting of me and my children:Marie Therese, Louis Charles and Louis Joseph. My little Sophie Helene
was in the painting as well. Louis Joseph still points to
where she was laying in the bassinet. She died, and so she was taken out of the painting. It is sad for me to look on this painting although it is beautifully done.
"My dear son, Louis Charles. When they came to take him away from me..to move him to another tower, I was like a mother tigress with her cub and for an entire hour, I would not let them take him away. Threats to my life did not move me...only the threat that they would take the life of my daughter, Marie Therese affected my resolve. It broke my heart to hear his sobs night after night, once they had taken him away from me."
My daughter, Marie Therese Charlotte as a young girl.
My daughter all grown up.
I used to change my clothing behind these screens.
The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
Music
The beautiful Temple of Love which I had built at Versailles.
One of the lovely fountains at Versailles.
"My music room where I spent so many lovely hours and often had musical parties with my dear friends."
"Another of the rooms I decorated. I hope you enjoy the sunny welcome that this room invokes."
"I decorated this room in my favorite shade of blue."
"One of my bedrooms.*smiles* As you can see, it was not made for privacy...which is how my life was. Only occasionally could I slip away to Le Hameau and find a bit of privacy for myself and my friends."
"The Belvedere. Part of my estate."
Soldiers escape from Varennes.
The Royal Family.
Movies
One of the ceilings in the palace of Versailles.
Painting of Queen Marie Antoinette painted my Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun hanging in the palace of Versailles.
My balcony at the Grand Palais where I often stood and looked out over the grounds.
Television
The palace at Versaillesl.
Sculpture at Versailles.
You Are a Prophet Soul
You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone.
Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people.
Sometimes this faith can lead to disappointment in the long run.
No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way.
You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle.
Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings.
A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning.
You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer.
Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul
You can vibe with the steady rhythms of the Moon.
You're in touch with your emotions and intuition.
You possess a great, unmatched imagination - and an infinite memory.
Ultra-sensitive, you feel at home anywhere (or with anyone).
A total healer, you light the way in the dark for many.
You are a Healer Empath. You take in the energy of others and transmute it. You trigger transformation in others and free trapped energy. You are capable of great healing abilities. You walk between the worlds and bring waves of healing energy with your presence. (from "The Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Empaths/)
I was born many, many years ago on November 2, 1755 the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen, Empress and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. The names I was given
were Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna. I was the youngest of
eight Habsburg princesses. As my mother, the Queen would
say of all of us princesses,"They are born to obey and must learn to do so in good time" and so it was...that
at the young age of 14, my mother, Queen Maria Theresa put me on a coach to send me to France to marry the Dauphin,
Louis Auguste. I shall never forget how my mother hugged me again and again and her final words to me were, "Farewell, my dearest child, a great distance will separate us...Do so much good to the French people that they can say that I have sent them an angel." She then broke down and wept and I too could not control my sobs
as I craned my neck out the window...trying to catch the
last glimpses of my childhood home. Many things have wrongly been attributed to me over the years...but those who knew me knew that I was a sensitive, loving and compassionate woman. It was not easy leaving my home, going to a different country, but I tried my best to
live up to the words my Mother last spoke to me. The
first seven years were hard. Everyone expected me to
produce a child, but it took those seven years before
my husband would consummate our marriage. This was most
distressing to me. I felt that I was letting my Mother down and the people of France as month after month in those first years, my mother would enquire of me if I
was with child. I eventually had four children, but lost two of my beloved children. This was most heartbreaking
to both Louis and I and we suffered as any parent would
with the loss of two of our sweet children. I hope that
those who have a great interest in history will search
out the many good books that have been written about me.
I was not the selfish, haughty woman that many have portrayed me as. May you all start your journey into the annals of history to search out the true story of my life
and the circumstances surrounding my death. History is
important...in that we learn lessons that keep us from
repeating the same mistakes as our ancestors. May you
learn something from my history...is my prayer.
My husband, King Louis Auguste XVI. He does look most handsome in this picture.
La Révolution Française - Procès du Roi
The following comes from the journal of Axel von Fersen
and his own letter from the archbishop following the death of my husband Louis XVI.
Journal, January 21, 1793
On the 14th, sentence on the King was postponed to the 15th. The mood of the people is not is his favour. They put three questions: he is criminal, what punishment does he deserve, should the people themselves confirm the death sentence? The debates were prolonged.
The Archbishop of Tours to Fersen, January 27, 1793
The date of Louis XVI Gullotine
Escorted by four hundred cavalry and twelve hundred lights infantrymen, the King left the Temple at 9.30 in the morning of the 21st.
In complete silence he was taken along the Boulevards du Temple, de Saint-Martin and de Saint-Honore to the scaffold which had been erected on the former Place Luis XV, now known as the Place de la Revolution--between the point where the statue used to stand and the beginning of the Champs-Elysees.
In the carriage to the right of the King sat his Father Confessor, an Irish priest; in front sat two officers of the Gendarmerie.
Upon arrival at the foot of the scaffold he allowed his hands to be tied with the greatest composure and climbed up courageously.
He wanted to address the people but his voice was drowned by the drums. However, those standing near the scaffold heard him say the following words in a firm voice:"I forgive my enemies and I wish that my death will be to France's benefit."
At 10:45 he breathed his last sigh; his severed head was shown to the people. At that moment, there were cries:"Vive la nation! Vive la republique francaise!"
Some of the volunteers dipped their pikes into his blood, others their handkerchiefs.
His body and head were taken to the Madeleine and buried there.
The Archbishop of Tours has the honour, complying with the wishes of the Comte de Fersen, to inform him of the sad and terrible details of the cruel crime; it would dishonour the name of France for ever if it were not condemned by a large number of those who are still worthy of bearing this name.
The letters from Paris maintain absolute silence about the Royal family.
"Count Axel von Ferson, the dearest of friends. He did more for us than any other, and tried to help us escape
from those who would harm us. I should like for him to ever be remembered down through history as my hero. I
shall always cherish his memory and hold it close to my heart."
Antoinette's Death
Fersen to Sophie Countess Piper.
Sophie is Fersen's sister whom he loved and shared all his feelings with
"Pity me! Pity me! Only you can understand how I feel now. I have lost all I possessed. Now you are the only one I have. Do not forsake me! She who was my happiness and for whom I lived--yes, my dear Sophie, I never ceased loving her and I would have sacrificed everything for her. I feel it at this moment. She, whom I loved and for whom I would have gladly given a thousand lives, is no more! Dear God, why do you place such a burden upon me, what have I done to deserve your wrath? She is no longer among the living. My pain is indescribable!
I do not know how I shall be able to live and bear my agony. Nothing will ever allay it. Her image will always be before me and within me. Her memory and what she meant to me will make me mourn her forever.
Everything is over for me. Why was I not allowed to die by her side, to spill my blood for her--for both of them?"
Journal, October 22nd, 1793
"The whole day passed in silence, without a word being spoken. All I was able to do was to think and to think; I made a thousand plans. If my health permitted it, I would join the war to revenge her or die. Oh, I felt so desperately unhappy and was unable to think of anything else. I swear eternal vengeance against her murderers, a vengeance that will never cease." Count Axel von Fersen loved Queen Marie Antoinette deeply and each year, the 16th of October-the date of her death..he mourned for his lost love till his own death, 17 years later. No one ever took her place in his heart.
Young Count Axel Fersen
The cell where I was incarcerated for months. I could think of nothing but my dear children.
This is my dear sister-in-law, Madame Elizabeth to which I addressed this last letter. It never reached her, but it held the thoughts I had at the time and wished to express to her. What a sweet sister she was, indeed!
Marie Antoinette's last letter was to her sister-in-law Madame Elisabeth. The letter was written in Temple Prison, where she was kept before gullotine, on October 16, 1793 at 4:30am.
Marie Antoinette wished Madame Elisabeth would pass the message to Fersen
The last letter had never reached its destination. It was handed to the Public Prosecutor. He retained it.
16th October 4:30 a.m.
It is to you, my sister, that I write for the last time. I have just been condemned, not to a shameful death, for such is only for criminals, but to go and rejoin your brother. Innocent like him, I hope to show the same firmness in my last moments. I am calm, as one is when one's conscience reproaches one with nothing. I feel profound sorrow in leaving my poor children: you know that I only lived for them and for you, my good and tender sister. You who out of love have sacrificed everything to be with us, in what a position do I leave you! I have learned from the proceedings at my trial that my daughter was separated from you. Alas! poor child; I do not venture to write to her; she would not receive my letter. I do not even know whether this will reach you. Do you receive my blessing for both of them. I hope that one day when they are older they may be able to rejoin you, and to enjoy to the full your tender care. Let them both think of the lesson which I have never ceased to impress upon them, that the principles and the exact performance of their duties are the chief foundation of life; and then mutual affection and confidence in one another will constitute its happiness. Let my daughter feel that at her age she ought always to aid her brother by the advice which her greater
experience and her affection may inspire her to give him. And let my son in his turn render to his sister all the care and all the services which affection can inspire. Let them, in short, both feel that, in whatever positions they may be placed, they will never be truly happy but through their union. Let them follow our example. In our own misfortunes how much comfort has our affection for one another afforded us! And, in times of happiness, we have enjoyed that doubly from being able to share it with a friend; and where can one find friends more tender and more united than in one's own family? Let my son never forget the last words of his father, which I repeat emphatically; let him never seek to avenge our deaths. I have to speak to you of one thing which is very painful to my heart, I know how much pain the child must have caused you. Forgive him, my dear sister; think of his age, and how easy it is to make a child say whatever one wishes, especially when he does not understand it. It will come to pass one day, I hope, that he will better feel the value of your kindness and of your tender affection for both of them. It remains to confide to you my last thoughts. I should have wished to write them at the beginning of my trial; but, besides that they did not leave me any means of writing, events have passed so rapidly that I really have not had time.
I die in the Catholic Apostolic and Roman religion, that of my fathers, that in which I was brought up, and which I have always professed. Having no spiritual consolation to look for, not even knowing whether there are still in this place any priests of that religion (and indeed the place where I am would expose them to too much danger if they were to enter it but once), I sincerely implore pardon of God for all the faults which I may have committed during my life. I trust that, in His goodness, He will mercifully accept my last prayers, as well as those which I have for a long time addressed to Him, to receive my soul into His mercy. I beg pardon of all whom I know, and especially of you, my sister, for all the vexations which, without intending it, I may have caused you. I pardon all my enemies the evils that they have done me. I bid farewell to my aunts and to all my brothers and sisters. I had friends. The idea of being forever separated from them and from all their troubles is one of the greatest sorrows that I suffer in dying. Let them at least know that to my latest moment I thought of them.
Farewell, my good and tender sister. May this letter reach you. Think always of me; I embrace you with all my heart, as I do my poor dear children. My God, how heart-rending it is to leave them forever! Farewell! farewell! I must now occupy myself with my spiritual duties, as I am not free in my actions. Perhaps they will bring me a priest; but I here protest that I will not say a word to him, but that I will treat him as a total stranger."
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette with their Children at Versailles October 6, 1789 by Gyula Benczur
The Storming of the Tuileries
On the morning of 14th July 1789 a huge crowd gathered on the parade ground of Les Invalides..... undeterred by the presence of 5000 of the Kings troops.
The orderly crowd soon became a mob ..... swarmed into the armoury ...........and seized 30,000 muskets..
Thus the mob were quickly supplied with arms, but...alas.... they had no gunpowder !
There were rumors that 250 barrels of gunpowder were just sitting in the Bastille ...that ancient ediface across the river Seine..
In no time at all the mob gathered outside the Bastille demanding gunpowder and shot for their muskets.
The Governor..De Launey refused to hand over any munitions without prior authorization from the King,
At this impasse the mob turned angry. A group of men managed to climb the huge gates of the Bastille and cut the ropes on the outer drawbridge..
The drawbridge duly fell and the crowd surged into the inner courtyard.
Alarmed at this developement De Launey gave orders to open fire with the result that 83 of the mob were killed.
However there were renegade soldiers amongst the seething crowd who rolled two heavy canon into position to fire at the inner drawbridge..
Faced with this serious situation and further loss of life .... De Launey capitulated to the mob and lowered the drawbridge allowing them to enter the Bastille..
The Govenor was badly beaten by the insurgents and then paraded through the streets to the Hotel de Ville...(the People's HQ. ) where he was hacked to death and decapitated.
Despite all the lurid pamphlets about the Bastille and the suffering of its prisoners only 7 prisoners were found inside.
These seven petty criminals were being kept in a humane way in relatively comfortable conditions...they were even allowed alcohol..
Two days after the storming of the Bastille the people began to tear it down, stone by stone.
By the end of 1789 the ancient structure had been flattened and a statue of the" Goddess of Nature " erected on the site.
MONUMENT TO THE SWISS GUARD
The Swiss have a long tradition of supplying mercenaries to foreign governments. Because the Swiss have been politically neutral for centuries and have long enjoyed a reputation for honoring their agreements, a pope or emperor could be confident that his Swiss Guards wouldn't turn on him when the political winds shifted direction.
The Swiss Guards' honor was put to the test in 1792, when--after trying to escape the French Revolution--King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and their children were hauled back to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. A mob of working-class Parisians stormed the palace in search of aristocratic blood. More than 700 Swiss officers and soldiers died while defending the palace, without knowing that their royal employers--like Elvis--had left the building.
In the early 1800s, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen was hired to sculpt a monument to the fallen Swiss Guards. The sculpture was carved in a sandstone cliff above the city center, near Lucerne's Glacier Garden and the Panorama, and it has attracted countless visitors since its dedication in 1821.
Marie Antoinette is depicted in the
year of her marriage at the age of 15.
As wife of the French dauphin the
later queen carried the traditional title
dauphine. This marble bust was
commissioned by Marie Antoinette’s
father-in-law King Louis XV as a
present to her mother Empress
Maria Theresa. Lemoyne, Court
sculptor to the King, worked at the
bust for over a year before he was
able to present it in Versailles on
September 15th, 1771.
Louis XV and the art critics of the day
celebrated the bust as the most
important work of the aged artist. The
graceful, elegant fluidity of the lines
and the vivid physical likeness
achieved inspite of intended
idealisation make this sculpture a
perfect example of the aristocratic
taste of that period.
Archduchess Marie Antoinette,
Dauphine de France
Jean Baptiste Lemoyne II
(Paris 1704 -1778 Paris)
Paris, 1771
Marble; H 76.5 cm
KK Inv. No. 5478
The Palais de justice where the trials were held.
Clip from the movie "Jefferson in Paris" with french actress Charlotte de Turckeim playing Marie Antoinette.
Who I'd like to meet:
All those who have a great love for music, art, history science and the healing arts. If you have a love for herbs and herbal remedies, healing the body naturally as
God intended...I would love to hear from you.
A new Marie Antoinette Doll
Salon de Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Barbie Doll....simply stunning!!
"I always loved performing onstage"
One of the fountains at Versailles.
Count Axel von Fersen in uniform upon his noble steed.
Joelly Richardson playing the part of me in "The Affair of the Necklace." The movie is made from Madame La Motte's point of view and portrays me as the villain. It is not a true accounting and I beg you to read what is written about this sordid affair from more reliable sources.
Marie Antoinette and Count Axel von Fersen
The "Sillage de la Reine" perfume that was made from my recipe created for for me years ago.
Norma Shearer as Queen Marie Antoinette
PICTURES FROM THE 1938 VERSION OF "MARIE ANTOINETTE"
with Tyrone Power and Norma Shearer.
Picture of Marie Antoinette & Count Axel von Ferson from a
Mexican magazine from the 40's. Many thanks, Daveed!:)
Antoinette from another 40's Mexican magazine. Thanks again, DaVeed:)
"Angels aid us in our personal mission. We have to learn to listen, for if we block the angels out, they become only the fairy beings of dreams and pleasant stories." - Silver Ravenwolf
Even in the depths of winter, there is a little warmth to be found in memories of the heart. I hope your weekend is a good one dear Queen ~ Neuschwanstein ~
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