A Comprehensive Insight into the Children of Marie Antoinette

The heartbreaking story of Marie Antoinette’s execution during the French Revolution is legendary. However, while her life ended with her beheading in 1793, the sorrow of her family persisted well beyond her demise.

Marie Antoinette and her spouse, the Dauphin, were married for seven years before their marriage was consummated—much to the dismay of Marie’s family, especially her disapproving mother, Empress Maria Teresa of the Holy Roman Empire. Marie’s role in the French royal family and Franco-Austrian diplomacy hinged on her ability to bear a male heir, even before her husband ascended to the throne in 1774.

As Marie carried out her marital responsibilities and pioneered fashion trends at the Versailles court, France faced widespread famine. Meanwhile, Louis XVI continued to fund the Americans during the American Revolution, causing France’s national debt to skyrocket. Rising taxes, disproportionately burdening the poor, combined with high unemployment and poor harvests, turned France into a tinderbox of discontent by the late 1780s. Marie, with her lavish lifestyle, foreign demeanor, and excessive spending, became the target of public outrage.

The French royal family’s fortunes declined sharply after the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. By October, Marie, her husband, and their remaining children were forcibly relocated from Versailles to the Tuileries in Paris, where they were placed under house arrest. In 1792, the King was overthrown, and the family was confined to the Temple in Le Marais. Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793, and Marie met the same fate ten months later, on October 16.

Marie and Louis XVI were parents to four children, all born prior to the French Revolution. However, only one of them survived into adulthood.

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1. Marie Thérèse

Marie Antoinette’s eldest child, a daughter named after her mother, was born on December 9, 1778. The Queen endured a grueling 12-hour labor in a stifling room, collapsing from exhaustion and a convulsive fit, exacerbated by her doctor’s questionable competence. Unaware of the baby’s gender for hours, Marie Antoinette reportedly remarked upon waking, “Poor little girl, you are not what was desired, but you are no less dear to me. A son would have belonged to the state, but you will be mine.”

Following her parents’ executions, Marie Thérèse was left orphaned. She was held in the Temple prison until her release in December 1795. Shortly after, she married the Duc d’Angoulême, nephew of the self-proclaimed King Louis XVIII, making her the heir to the French throne.

As the Duchesse d'Angoulême, her life remained fraught with hardship. Her marriage was loveless and unconsummated, and the traumas of her youth left her embittered. She spent much of her life in exile from France, lacking her mother’s renowned beauty and charm. However, she briefly held the title of Madame la Dauphine as her husband’s claim to the throne grew stronger.

In 1830, Marie Thérèse briefly became Queen of France—for roughly 20 minutes—as her husband signed abdication papers. She passed away in October 1851 at the age of 72, still in exile. In her final will, she forgave those who had caused her suffering, stating that she followed the example set by her parents.

2. Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France

Born in 1781, Louis Joseph was the King’s male heir and the future Dauphin of France. Despite being a bright child, he struggled with frequent health issues. After enduring severe fevers, he succumbed to tuberculosis in June 1789, just a month before the historic storming of the Bastille.

3. Louis XVII

Born in March 1785, Louis Charles was initially destined to be the Duke of Normandy. However, following the death of his elder brother Louis Joseph, he assumed the title of Dauphin of France and was designated the heir to the throne.

Following his father’s execution, Royalists upheld the imprisoned boy’s claim to the French throne. Separated from his mother shortly before her death, Louis was coerced into making false accusations against Marie Antoinette (the Chateau de Versailles notes that an abusive cobbler manipulated him into claiming his mother had abused him).

Louis died in prison at just 10 years old, likely from tuberculosis worsened by the harsh conditions of his confinement. The coroner who conducted the autopsy kept the boy’s heart, concealing it for decades. In 1975, the preserved heart—which had been stolen by a student and taken to Spain—was returned to France and placed in the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

4. Sophie

Marie Antoinette’s youngest child, born prematurely in July 1786, tragically passed away just before reaching her first birthday.