Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI’s Wedding Disaster (1770)
As long as there have been fireworks, there have been fireworks mishaps. When Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI in 1770, one of these mishaps turned deadly in the streets of Paris. Their wedding was a spectacle with a massive reception in the Hall of Mirrors. Bad weather cancelled the celebratory fireworkds display, so the couple went directly to their bedchamber. They had to lay down together, in front of the entire French court, to show they share a bed.
For two weeks, the couple partied, capped off with more fireworks. But the celebration turned tragic on May 30, when partially exploded fireworks blew into the Place del Concorde, crowded with people trying to watch the display. There was a panic, and 132 or 133 people died in the crowd-crush that followed. It was a bad start to a marriage that ended in revolution and beheading.
