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Queenship and Revolution in Early Modern Europe pp 85–120Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Wife of the King

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Part of the book series: Queenship and Power ((QAP))

Abstract

When Henrietta Maria married Charles I in 1625 and Marie Antoinette married the future Louis XVI in 1770, both princesses experienced the most significant transformation in the life cycle of an Early Modern European woman. They became wives, assuming the social identities of their husbands. Royal weddings of the period attracted extensive popular interest and comment because the couples were participating in a ritual familiar to both genders and members of all social estates. Although numerous factors separated an elite wedding from the experiences of most Europeans, royal marriage still provided an opportunity for subjects to identify with their sovereigns.1 While public discussion of a monarch’s policies usually occurred at gatherings of nobles or educated townspeople, critiques of royal marital relations occurred in diverse settings. Debates concerning the royal couple provided opportunities for women in particular to participate in the emerging public sphere with the authority of their own experiences, beginning their statements with phrases such as “If I were the Queen…” or “I know the Queen to be…” A royal wedding therefore had a social and political impact beyond the immediate diplomatic and personal goals of any individual marriage contract.

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Notes

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  1. Carolyn Harris
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© 2016 Carolyn Harris

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Harris, C. (2016). Wife of the King. In: Queenship and Revolution in Early Modern Europe. Queenship and Power. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137491688_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137491688_4

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-57026-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-49168-8

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

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