She begins an affair with a military man named Fersen that lasts for the coming years. She complains to her brother that she has little influence over the king. As queen, Antoinette becomes only vaguely interested in the politics of the time. The king dies, leaving Louis to take the throne with Antoinette as queen. Prior to the birth of her first child, Antoinette and Louis learn that his grandfather, the king, has fallen ill with smallpox. His body is grossly deformed and he is ashamed to be seen by outsiders and later dies. The older son soon grows more ill with what is later diagnosed as spinal tuberculosis. When another daughter is born, Sophie, the prognosis is dim and the girl lives less than a year. Another son is eventually born, this one more healthy and easing the country's worry on this front. They have a son soon after, but he is sickly and the entire country continues to worry about him. The first child is a daughter and though there is some despair, there's also hope because it's now proven that Antoinette and Louis are fertile. Louis, apparently after a heart-to-heart talk with Antoinette's brother, finally completely performs his duty and Antoinette soon conceives. The marriage is eventually consummated to some degree but Antoinette continues to report to her mother that she isn't yet pregnant. For months, the marriage remains unconsummated because her husband, Louis, is apathetic about performing his 'duty' to produce an heir to the throne. She soon faces a serious problem in her marriage. She is soon married by proxy and makes the wedding trip to France, where she meets her young husband.

This happens to be the case when her older sister, pledged in marriage to the Dauphin of France, dies and leaves Antoinette to fill that role. Her childhood is filled with instruction based on the probability that she is destined for a royal marriage to cement an alliance between countries and families. Antoinette is the fifteenth child of the Austrian King and Queen.

Marie antoinette by antonia fraser