Preluding Events: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were married as a matter of political expediency.

The marriage of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette was no random event. In fact, governments interested in forming alliances with other countries would attempt to unite their leaders with the children of other royalty. Before the duchess and archduchess' elopement, Austria and France had a three century rivalry. Their indifferences became so prolonged that Louis XV and Marie Theresa plotted the marriage of their children to form some sort of diplomacy between the two countries. Barely in their teens, Louis XVI was promised to be married to Marie Antoinette.

The ceremony began on May 16, 1770 in Versailles. There were over 5,000 guests that attended, and a crowd of 200,000 watched the ending celebratory fireworks display. On the day of May 16, two things were seen as bad luck for the marriage. First, a big storm began, which threatened the continuance of the ceremony. Next, a huge riot at the ending fireworks display that resulted in hundreds of people getting trampled and killed. Nevertheless, the ceremony continued and young Kind Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were married. However, at this young, they're certainly not ready to be married. One of the key reasons for royal marriages was to produce heirs, and this was expected to happen with some readiness. In the case of this royal couple, a night became seven years, a situation that not only worries the members of the royal household, but is a political accountability.