9. Spreading Lies About Marie Antoinette Was A National Past Time
Much of the hatred spread against Hillary Clinton has been proven time and again to be false. Still, the rumors persist, and even after she has somewhat retired from public life, many people still clamor to lock her up and throw away the key.
Marie Antoinette faced a similarly dissenting public who spread horrific rumors about her. One of the most prolific — one that persists to this day — was that she was an adulteress. Despite current research revealing that she may have had an affair with Austrian statesman Axel von Fersen, stories of her infidelity were often spread by the king’s brothers, who stood to inherit the throne should he fail to produce a legitimate male heir.
Marie Antoinette’s son, Louis Charles, was sickly from birth, and the public knew that during bouts of illness, he was allowed to sleep in her bed. When she was in prison and on trial, the court used her care for her sick son as the basis for claiming that she had an abusive, incestuous relationship with him.
Louis Charles was imprisoned separately from his mother, and he was ill during most of his imprisonment until he succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 10. Under unknown conditions, he was coerced into agreeing with the accusation and testifying against his mother.