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
Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, also "Manette" (Marie Antoinette Margarethe Mathilde; 28 May 1884 – 26 October 1944) was the second daughter of Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg and the Austrian-born Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz. Her brothers and sisters were Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg (1882–1904), Duchess Maria Luise of Mecklenburg (1883–1883), Duke Henry Borwin of Mecklenburg (1885–1942), and Duke Joseph of Mecklenburg (1889–1889). Marie Antoinette almost had a difficult relationship to her cousin Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, who regularly had to amortize her debts. So Marie Antoinette regularly had to sell