Daniel Peake

While visually pleasing to watch, the series is not totally historically accurate. Louis XVI and Provence had a younger brother, the Comte D'Artois who was very much a part of Marie Antoinette's inner circle; he is missing in action. In fact Artois' wife was the sister of Provence's wife (both from Savoy). The Princesse de Lamballe , Marie's first friend at the French court, was also from Savoy. Artois and his wife produced a male child before Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; much to the distress of Marie Antoinette (see Sophia Coppola's 2006 film). The French never forgave Marie her Austrian (Hapsburg) heritage; the French had been fighting the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire since Louis XIV's time. Ultimately Marie paid the price with her life for the folly of an unsuitable diplomatic marriage that accomplished nothing.