Marie Antoinette May 1774, the Dauphin ascended the throne as King Louis XVI of France and Navarre with Marie Antoinette as his Queen. At the outset, the new queen had limited political influence with her husband, who, with the support of his two most important ministers, Chief Minister Maurepas and Foreign Minister Vergennes, blocked several of her candidates from assuming important positions, including Choiseul. The queen did play a decisive role in the disgrace and exile of the most powerful of Louis XV's ministers, the Duke of Aiguillon. On 24 May 1774, two weeks after the death of Louis XV, the king
Marie Antoinette (watch) 1783 by Count Hans Axel von Fersen, an admirer and alleged lover of the French Queen, Marie Antoinette. It took almost twenty years to complete. Marie Antoinette never lived to see the watch, as it was completed 34 years after she had been executed. Work stopped for around seven years (1789–1795) during the period of Breguet's exile. The "Marie Antoinette" remained in the possession of the Breguet company until it was sold to Sir Spencer Brunton in 1887, eventually finding its way into the collection of Breguet expert Sir David Lionel Salomons in the 1920s. On his death in 1925,