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
Cultural depictions of Marie Antoinette —M. ANTOINETTE The most famous historical fiction which features Marie Antoinette is the Alexandre Dumas, père novel "Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge" ("The Knight of the Red House,") which centers on the Carnation Plot. It is actually the first of a series of six books written by Dumas with Marie Antoinette featured, called the "Marie Antoinette novels", in which the queen is shown in a sympathetic light, particularly during the "Diamond Necklace Affair". Some of the more famous historical novels that have portrayed Marie Antoinette in more recent years includes Carolly Erickson's 2005 novel "The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette", as