Did Marie-Antoinette's children survive?

[hillary_nugent]

Did all of Marie-Antoinette's children die during the revolution? wouldn't their descendents be the heir to the French throne?

[queenanne]

Not all of her children died during the French Revolution. The eldest boy fell ill and died before any of the revolution broke out and their other son died in prison from tuberculosis of the bones. Their only daughter to survive infancy also survived the revoution. She married her cousin and became the Duchess of Angouleme. Much to her sorrow, she and her husband were not able to have children, so the direct line ended there.

[hillary_nugent]

Originally Posted by queenanne

Not all of her children died during the French Revolution. The eldest boy fell ill and died before any of the revolution broke out and their other son died in prison from tuberculosis of the bones. Their only daughter to survive infancy also survived the revoution. She married her cousin and became the Duchess of Angouleme. Much to her sorrow, she and her husband were not able to have children, so the direct line ended there.

What a sad ending...i'm reading a biography on Marie Antoinette at the moment and she is not as evil as everyone has portrayed her to be...

[queenanne]

No, she was not. What a lot of people don't understand is that she and Louis were very young when they were wed and eventually became King and Queen. They had very little experience and were not at all used to running a country like France was at that time. As she grew older, Marie Antoinette became a very good mother and wife. However, it was too late, as her fate was already sealed in the peoples' minds.:( May I ask which biography it is? I'm looking forward to reading the one by Antonia Fraser. Another one I like, but its kind of hard to find and isn't as well known, are the two books Trianon and Madame Royale both by Maria Vidal.

[hillary_nugent]

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAH what a coincident!! i happen to be reading the biography written by Antonia Fraser!!! i recommend really informative and interesting...gives a you a good insight of Marie-Antoinette's life ^____^

[queenanne]

Well, you know what they say, "great minds think alike". Glad to hear that its good. I hope to get it for Christmas, but may break down and just go ahead and buy it myself. I'm so impatient.:)

[Marengo]

I own & have read the same book as well & Marie-Antoinette was not that terrible. However, her daughter could not have become Queen-regnant in France only men could inherit the throne. After the napoleontic area the throne went to the brothers of Louis XVI, the childless Louis XVIII and Charles X. Charles X had to abdicate in 1830 in favour of the Orleans family. The son of Charles X married Marie-Therese, only daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette of Austria. The marriage was childless so all rights went to the next in line, the Orleans family. But because the Bourbon-supporters (legetimists) hated the Orleans family because in their eyes they had upsurped the throne in 1830, they turned their eye to the spanish Bourbons.
Most people see agree that the Orleans family are the true pretenders to the throne & that the self claimed Duke of Anjou has no base for his claim. Leading geneologists, most of the french aristocracy, magazines and other royal families all support the Orleans claim, even King Juan-Carlos of Spain!
I have a much higher opinion of the duke de Vendome then of Luis-Alfonso de Borbon y Martinez. As I said, the entire issue is caused by the dislike of some people of the Orleans family & that is why they searched & searched untill they found someone vein enough to support them in their childish battle.
The house of Napoleon is very modest about their claims & do not realy participate in this matter.

[hillary_nugent]

don't you think her life was so fascinating? well fascinating until the last few years of her life...golly her mother the Empress was soooooooooo dominating...i wouldn't stand it if i had a mother like her...and in reading the book i learnt that the 'let them eat cake' story has been linked to many princesses and queens before and after her...the book illustrates a Marie-Antoinette that totally contradicts the image people have portrayed about her...she seemed genuinely kind and nice, i only wished she had descendants...

hey was all of Louis XVI siblings executed during the revolution as well? wouldn't their descendants be the heir to the French throne?

[queenanne]

There have been several rumors that the Dauphin survived and was taken somewhere else. One says he lived in Canada, one somewhere else and so on. Marie Therese did survive the Revolution, but died childless.

[EmpressRouge]

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there is a con-man who calls himself the Dauphin and claims to be "Loo-ie" the son of Louis XVI and heir to the French throne, so the rumor that the Dauphin survived did circle around.

[hillary_nugent]

wow interesting...lets say if the Dauphin did survive and his descendents exist, would they have the rights to claim any properties or items of the royal family? sorry for these silly questions but i'm very curious =]

[queenanne]

Originally Posted by hillary_nugent

wow interesting...lets say if the Dauphin did survive and his descendents exist, would they have the rights to claim any properties or items of the royal family? sorry for these silly questions but i'm very curious =]

I would imagine that they would have every right, but I may be wrong. There may be legal technicalities to prevent such a thing. Anyone else?