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Why is Marie Antoinette so controversial? - Carolyn Harris

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She was the Queen of France, notorious for living in opulence while peasants starved and became a symbol of everything wrong with monarchy. But was Marie Antionette a heartless, wasteful queen, or a convenient scapegoat in turbulent times? Carolyn Harris puts this controversial figure on trial in History vs. Marie Antoinette.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Interested in learning more about King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and the French Revolution?

Explore the art and culture of the Royal Court at Versailles by visiting the online collections of the Versailles Museum.

View portraits of Marie Antoinette by the ground-breaking female artist Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun from a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Read key documents from the outbreak of the French Revolution including The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and The Tennis Court Oath. More documents from the French Revolution are available here.

Learn more about how Marie Antoinette was remembered after the French Revolution by reading the memoirs of her lady-of-the-bedchamber, Jeanne Campan, “Memoirs of the Court of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.”

Tour a recent exhibit from the Conciergerie in Paris about the Metamorphosis of Marie Antoinette’s public image.

Learn more about royalty across Europe are perceived today at Carolyn Harris Royal Historian.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Carolyn Harris
  • Director Brett Underhill, PorkchopBob Studio
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Music Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Anna Bechtol, Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler

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