MovieChat Forums > Marie Antoinette (2006) Discussion > How could she be executed if she became ...

How could she be executed if she became a queen being an heiress.


I have a huge doubt about her execution.

How people were able to put her on trial and then being executed if she was a queen by heritage and not by Marriage.

Being a Tudors fan I had understood that a queen by heritage could not be killed by the law.
They were the ones who ordered the execution of the traitors and people who were threats to the crown.

The only Queens who could be beheaded were consort queens like Hnery's wifes.
So Why Marie Antonniette was killed by the law, how the people were able to put her in that situation

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I am just guessing here, but isn't the whole point of revolution to overthrow a monarchy, dictatorship, a type of repression, etc.? Why would they abide by the laws and customs they are revolting against to begin with?

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You pretty much have it right there. Truth is, Marie Antoinette didn't begin to take her role as Queen seriously until after the revolution began, but sadly, she became the wrong sort of queen for the period of change in France.

Unlike England, France never made the transition to a constitutional monarchy.

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[deleted]

Marie Antoinette was a consort queen! She was a queen by marriage, she would never have become a queen on her own right. Having said that, she was an Empress's daughter and her death sent shockwaves around the world. As far as how could they do that, as I understand it, the King is above the law, I don't know if a queen consort, but that didn't stop the french from killing the King either, simply put, France had become a no man's land and if they wanted to kill the Queen, they very well would, and that's what happened.

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Two words- French.revolution.

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I think most of your question has been adresed and the many fallacies in your statements have been put right. I am just going to offer a few more Royal by birth (or as you say heritage) executions. King Charles I was beheaded outside. Whitehall Palace by Cromwell when the monarchy was toppled and his family was exiled. This was a period of time during which Cromwell became the Protectorate of the England and there was no longer a King. When Cromwell died his wimpy son couldn't take on his role and everyone knew it so they eventually basically asked Charles II back to be king. Long before all that Queen E lizabeth I (daughter of Henry's ill fated Anne Boleyn) had her cousin Mary Queen of Scots- Royal by birth- executed- petty much because Mary had too much of a claim on HE R throne and as long as she lived the Catholics would rally around her. It was a huge deal to execute royalty and for one royal to kill another was a tremendous thing. Elizabeth would have basically thought herself cursed by her action- it is an intresting piece of history to read about- the choice to behead a Queen.
History is littered with royals (by birth) losing their lives to revolutionaries or even to each other. In the case of Henry VIII it would have been very complicated for him to execute his only wife who was Royal by birth- Katherine of Aragon- daughter of Isabelle and Ferdinand. Her nephew was the Holy Roman Emepwror for one thing and he happened to have the pope that Henry needed a dispensation from being held hostage if I remember correctly (my Tudor phase was at least 5 years ago). I think he also wasn't totally given over to his madness at that time. I think that there is a high likelihood that he suffered from a physical- possibly blood related problem that would have explained his basically going crazy, hearing voices, and the difficulty in him having more than one child with any of his wives. Once he beheaded Anne I'm sure it was a lot easier to do it to Katharine Howard. And again because they weren't Royal the simply weren't the sort of repercussions. He didn't have to worry about another country coming after him or holding it against him since the Howard family was only powerful within his court and by the E grace of the power he gave them- they couldn't be the sort of threat that the Holy Roman Emperor could be. I also think Henry was highly dependent on the counsel of those around him and once they wanted Anne out they just had to wait for her to fail in the reproduction game and then start steering him, give him a shiny new toy and the promise of an heir, then throw some not exactly plausible accusations wi some circumstantial evidence his way. Anne had already convinced hi that his word was law.

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the answer is simple : such rules dont apply for revolutions

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