Marie Antoinette and her children. From a painting by Madame Lebrun, in the Versailles Palace.
Marie Antoinette was unpopular both at the French court and with the people almost from the time of her marriage. The ladies of the court disliked her because she made fun of their grand manners. The people considered her frivolous and extravagant. They declared that she was nothing but a "foreigner," and generally called her "the Austrian." She had four children—two daughters and two sons. The younger daughter died in infancy, in 1787; and the older son died at the age of seven, in 1789. The younger son, who survived his parents, is shown in the picture as the baby in the queen's lap.
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