Boizot, Louis-Simon. V&A’s Collection
14. Marie Antoinette’s Marriage Was Part of a Peace Treaty
Marie Antoinette was promised to Louis XVI when she was only ten years old and married when she was 14. In those days, marriages between royals of different countries — in this case, Austria and France — were common as parts of peace treaties. Her marriage helped to secure an alliance between the French Bourbons and the Austrian Hapsburgs, who had had a feud for nearly 200 years. To many, her marriage was nothing but a façade, a sham designed to keep the peace but that meant nothing to her on a personal level.
Likewise, many people have questioned Hillary Clinton’s marriage to Bill, especially after the Monica Lewinsky scandal publicly exposed his infidelity. Amongst other things, they said that her marriage was a fake designed to help her own ambitions and keep the peace. After all, nothing sullies a political career or creates more fodder for gossip quite like a high-profile divorce. She has even been accused of being a closet lesbian who married Bill to help her keep up appearances and who excused his infidelity because she was privately having lesbian affairs, even during the Lewinsky scandal.
