The Petit Trianon was built by Marie Antoinette's father-in-law, Louis XV, as a private retreat for he and his mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour. It was here, in 1774, that he felt the first symptoms of the smallpox that killed him. Some few months later, Louis XVI presented his wife, the newly crowned, twenty year old Queen of France, with a key decorated with 531 diamonds. He said something really sweet when he gave it to her, but I've got to remember where I read the quote. Marie Antoinette and her friends spent more and more time at Trianon which caused more and more jealousy and bitterness among the uninvited courtiers. This, in turn, eventually played a part in their desire to undermine and bad mouth the Queen, laying the groundwork for the Revolution. The populace was hungry and ripe for a fight anyway and it's way more complicated that I'm making it, but it was a factor. Fifteen years later, Marie Antoinette was at the Trianon when she received word that the women (and men disguised as women) were marching toward Versailles, weapons in hand. She rushed back to Versailles, then was escorted by the crowd to Paris, and never saw the Versailles or Trianon palace again.
The Petit Trianon was built by Marie Antoinette's father-in-law, Louis XV, as a private retreat for he and his mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour. It was here, in 1774, that he felt the first symptoms of the smallpox that killed him. Some few months later, Louis XVI presented his wife, the newly crowned, twenty year old Queen of France, with a key decorated with 531 diamonds. He said something really sweet when he gave it to her, but I've got to remember where I read the quote. Marie Antoinette and her friends spent more and more time at Trianon which caused more and more jealousy and bitterness among the uninvited courtiers. This, in turn, eventually played a part in their desire to undermine and bad mouth the Queen, laying the groundwork for the Revolution. The populace was hungry and ripe for a fight anyway and it's way more complicated that I'm making it, but it was a factor. Fifteen years later, Marie Antoinette was at the Trianon when she received word that the women (and men disguised as women) were marching toward Versailles, weapons in hand. She rushed back to Versailles, then was escorted by the crowd to Paris, and never saw the Versailles or Trianon palace again.
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