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TED-Ed

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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