![]() “I longed to kiss that child,” Francis explained, by way of excuse for the delay. On the hot July morning in 1765 that her parents and older siblings left Vienna to travel to Innsbruck in preparation for her brother Leopold’s wedding-the younger children, as usual, being left behind-with everyone already ensconced in their carriages ready to go, Francis, much to Maria Theresa’s irritation, insisted on holding up the entire procession until nine-year-old Marie Antoinette could be brought out to him for a last tender embrace. Her mother, it is true, intimidated her-Maria Theresa was the disciplinarian in the family-but her easygoing father softened the rigor imposed by the empress, and Marie Antoinette worshipped him. She was a darling, uncomplicated child, existing entirely on the surface, and these qualities were rewarded with adult approval. In those dark days, Marie Antoinette’s ready laugh, bright little face, and affectionate demeanor gladdened her parents’ hearts. This she remained through the heartache of the next few years, which included the loss of first her sister Maria Johanna, nearly 12 to Marie Antoinette’s 7, and then her brother Joseph’s first wife, Isabella, both to smallpox, when she was 8. It was soon after the Mozart recital that Maria Christina painted the portrait of her parents at the holiday breakfast table, and there is seven-year-old Marie Antoinette, proudly holding up her new doll, significantly the only younger daughter present, secure in her position as treasured pet of the family. ![]() Small wonder, then, that the emperor and empress sought to divert themselves with children whose innocent antics made for such a refreshing contrast to the cares of adult life. Francis was similarly captivated, calling the boy “the little sorcerer” when he responded to a teasing dare of the emperor’s by effortlessly playing the harpsichord with all the keys covered. Mozart immediately won the heart of the empress by leaping onto her lap and giving her a kiss. As the visiting musician was himself just six years old, all of Maria Theresa’s children, even those in the younger group, were allowed to attend the performance. There is a charming account of a gathering at Schönbrunn on October 13, 1762, just three weeks before Marie Antoinette’s seventh birthday, when a pint-sized musical prodigy by the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was invited to entertain the imperial family. Of all his children, she most resembled him, not so much in looks as in nature-she was highly social and at her best in company (and, like him, somewhat less successful in the schoolroom). Marie Antoinette was her father’s favorite: Francis loved the sweet smiles and adorable prattle of this last baby girl, and indulged her affectionately. She was exceptionally pretty, all big blue eyes, blond curls, and merry disposition, not unlike Maria Theresa herself as a young girl. Toinette, as she was nicknamed (although she was also often referred to simply as “the little one”), was her mother’s 15th child and youngest daughter. Thus, it could be argued that, since both her youngest daughter and the Austrian-French alliance came into being at more or less the same moment in history, it was George Washington who put Marie Antoinette on the throne of France. ![]() ![]() The crisis had driven Maria Theresa into a treaty with Louis XV, arranged surreptitiously through Madame de Pompadour. Just a year earlier, an overeager American colonial had exceeded his orders and opened fire on a sleeping French reconnaissance unit, rekindling hostilities between England and France. Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755. ![]()
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