This episode explores the dramatic life and downfall of Marie Antoinette, the queen whose name became a symbol of royal excess during the French Revolution. Born in 1755 as an Austrian archduchess, she was married at fourteen to the future King Louis XVI in a political alliance meant to strengthen ties between Austria and France. Thrust into the rigid and extravagant court of Versailles, she struggled to adapt to intense public scrutiny and political tension.

As France’s financial crisis deepened, fueled by war debts and social inequality, public anger turned toward the monarchy. Though many of France’s problems were rooted in long-standing economic and political failures, Marie Antoinette became the face of extravagance and detachment. Rumors and propaganda painted her as indifferent to the suffering of the poor, especially during rising bread shortages.

When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, the royal family was forced from Versailles and eventually imprisoned. After a failed attempt to flee the country, Marie Antoinette was tried and condemned during the Reign of Terror. In 1793, she was executed by guillotine, marking the symbolic end of France’s absolute monarchy.

Marie Antoinette’s life and death changed the world by embodying the fall of royal power and the rise of revolutionary justice. Her story remains a powerful reminder of how perception, inequality, and political upheaval can transform a queen into a symbol—and a symbol into history.