
Marie Antoinette is usually characterized as aloof and uncaring. However, she was very motherly and adopted several children.
“Let them eat cake!” This is the most famous line that Marie Antoinette never said. It was first written about someone else, before Marie Antoinette ever set foot in France, but, for some reason, it became associated with her. She’s often portrayed as a selfish Queen spending the country’s money on her lavish lifestyle, completely unconcerned about the suffering all around her.
But this queen had a compassionate side and a special place in her heart for children – especially orphans. In fact, she just couldn’t resist “adopting” them. Sometimes that meant paying for their education and welfare, and sometimes it meant actually taking them to the palace to live. Whenever she would hear of unfortunate children who had lost their parents, her immediate response was “I adopt them.”

When Marie Antoinette arrived in France to marry the King’s grandson, she was still a child herself. She was 14, and her husband was just one year older. The young bride and groom were both shy and inexperienced which led to trouble in the bedroom. It seems they just didn’t know exactly what to do and they had no desire to find out. Although, over the years, they made several attempts (nothing at Versailles was private), their marriage wasn’t consummated until 7 years after their wedding night. Some say that Louis had a physical problem that required a little surgery, but most evidence suggests that the couple was just inept.
You might think it was the bedroom problem that prompted Marie Antoinette, after years of unconsummated marriage, to adopt the first child. But even after the King and Queen had figured out what to do in the royal bed, and had 4 children of their own, she kept adopting children.
During the Revolution, the Queen’s world was thrown into turmoil. The Royals were forced to leave Versailles and put under house arrest at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. But Marie Antoinette was still taking care of her adopted children and actually adopting more. Even when she was in prison and knew her days were numbered, she was asking the guards to try to find news about the welfare of her adopted children.
Below are the stories of 4 of these children that lived with the Queen:

Armand
Maybe the young Queen had given up hope of ever having a son of her own. After advice-filled letters from her mother and well-meaning suggestions from their subjects on the streets of Paris, the couple still hadn’t figured out how to make babies.
Then one afternoon in 1776, when Marie Antoinette was out for a ride in her horse-drawn carriage, a little boy of 4 or 5 years old dashed out in front of the horses and was almost run over. The driver stopped in time and the boy was unharmed but very frightened. His grandmother came running and explained to the Queen that the boy’s mother had just died and left 4 children for her to take care of. Marie Antoinette immediately said she would adopt them. She would take the little boy to the palace and pay for the support of the others.
The boy’s name was François Michel Gagné, but he was called Jacques by his family. When he was taken to Versailles, the Queen renamed him Armand.
It seems that Armand was always a difficult child and the grandmother even tried to warn the Queen, telling her that “Jacques was a very naughty boy.” And it turns out that Grandma was right. When the Revolution erupted and the Royals were forced to leave Versailles, the teenaged Armand turned against his adoptive family and joined the revolutionaries. He died in 1792 in one of the French Revolutionary Wars.

Ernestine
In 1778, after the King and Queen had finally figured out what to do in the royal bed, their first child was born. The baby girl, named Marie Thérèse Charlotte was titled, Madame Royale.
Little Madame Royale was a difficult child (maybe because they called her Madame Royale) and the Queen wanted her to be more sociable, so she brought in a companion for her. Marie Philippine Lambriquet was daughter of one of the maids and the same age as Marie Thérèse. At first, the little girl spent her days at the palace, where she was called Ernestine, and went home each evening.
But when Ernestine’s mother died, the Queen immediately adopted her and moved her into apartments adjoining those of her royal playmate. Marie Antoinette gave orders that the two girls were to be treated exactly the same. They were dressed alike and took the same lessons. When they dined, one was served before the other on alternate days according to the Queen’s instructions.
Ernestine went with the family when they were removed from Versailles and installed in the Tuileries. When they sensed the growing danger and were planning their escape from Paris, the Queen sent Ernestine to the safety of her father’s home at Versailles. But the escape plan failed and the runaway royals were captured and returned to Paris, and Ernestine soon rejoined them. Ernestine left their household only when the Royals (including children) were imprisoned a year later.
Marie Thérèse was the only family member to survive prison, and when she was released and allowed to leave France, she searched for her adopted sister, Ernestine, to go with her. But Ernestine was living with her grandmother in the country and couldn’t be found. Then in 1814 when the monarchy was restored, Marie Thérèse returned to Paris and again looked for Ernestine. But it was too late, she had died a few months earlier.

Jean Amilcar
In 1787, the Chevalier de Boufflers returned from a trip to Senegal bearing gifts for the Queen. Marie Antoinette was presented with a parrot and a young Senegalese boy, 5 or 6 years of age. This practice, which seems barbaric to us now, was not uncommon at the time. Normally a boy like this would have been made a servant, but Marie Antoinette had him baptised as Jean Amilcar and he was looked after at the palace.
He would have been about 10 years old, when the family was forced to leave Versailles. He was placed in a pension which was paid for by the Queen until she was imprisoned and was no longer able. When the money from the Queen stopped coming, Jean Amilcar was kicked out of the pension and died on the streets of Paris.
Zoe
Even though the family’s situation at the Tuileries in Paris was precarious, Marie Antoinette didn’t stop helping or adopting children. In 1790, Marie Antoinette heard that one of her husband’s ushers and his wife had died within a few months of each other, leaving 3 orphaned girls. She immediately declared she would adopt them. The two older girls were placed in a convent where all expenses were paid by the Queen. But the youngest, Jeanne Louise Victoire, who was 3 years old, and close to the same age as the Dauphin Louis-Charles, was brought into the palace as his companion. Her name was changed to Zoe.
During the family’s attempted escape, Zoe, who was about 5 years old, was sent to the convent where her sisters were and she never returned to the family.
These 4 children actually lived with the Queen, but there were many others that she supported financially. Marie Antoinette may have had many faults, but she did love children and go out of her way to help them. It seems that a Queen like that couldn’t be all bad.

In case you are wondering about the Royal couple’s natural children:
- Marie Thérèse Charlotte (1778-1851) – She was the only one of the Royal Family to survive the Revolution.
- Louis Joseph (1781-1789) – Died at age 7 from tuberculosis at the beginning of the Revolution, before the family was imprisoned.
- Louis Charles (1785-1795) – Died in prison at age 10
- Sophie (1786-1787) – Died at age 1, before the beginning of the Revolution.
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This is extraordinary, isn’t it? We were in Versailles ourselves in October, for the second time. This was a treat to read Margo, thank you so much.
Hi Jane, Thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
It seems like we only hear the negative bits about Marie Antoinette, but maybe she wasn’t all that bad after all.
Very interesting insight into a queen that has been so often presented as a villain. The biography by Stefan Zweig also made a more sympathetic character of her.
Daniele
Hi Daniele, Thank you for commenting and thanks for the book tip. I’ll have to check it out.
Best -Margo
Another fascinating story Margo, thanks. What was with Marie Antoinette having to change the children’s names when she adopted them – and, poor Francois – called Jacques by his family anyway and then renamed Armand! Enough surely to make him a revolutionary! Makes me think of English families when I was a child and it would be said ” that’s Uncle Bob called Jack!” Odd!
It does seem odd that she changed everyone’s name and I haven’t run across anything that gives a reason for it, but there must have been one. Maybe certain names sounded more posh than others.
I do know that Marie Philippine was called Ernestine after a character in a book that was popular at the time.
And you are right, little Francois / Jacques / Armand must have just rebelled so people would stop changing his name. 🙂
So interesting Margo! I had no idea she had adopted children. Another great post. Becks
Thank you, Becks!
I know it’s not something we hear about very often, but it lets us see another side of her. After all, no one is completely bad or completely good.
thanks Margo! I love these blogs, it makes all that stuffy European History come alive! Thank you for all your hard work putting these together.
Fascinating. I had no idea, thanks!
Thanks Lori! Glad you liked it! 🙂
I love your posts! Another well researched and at times chuckle-worthy post (‘… Madame Royale’;)) I’m really enjoying such a high quality blog site to read. I love history and you make it so interesting.
Hi Sandra, Thanks so much! I’ve just discovered your site as well. It seems that you have started on quite an adventure. I’ll be following along at Excuses vs Life – Sandra’s Pursuit of Paris http://excusesvslife.com
This is such great work! I am actually doing a project on Marie Antoinette as well. May I ask where do you get access to this detailed information?
Thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I have a great book on Marie Antoinette – I’m not home at the moment, but when I get back, I’ll send you the title.
Best,
Margo
The book is “Marie Antoinette” by Philippe Huisman and Marguerite Tallut. It’s a really good book with lots of info in it.
Best of luck on your project!
Fascinating! I had read about Ernestine, but did not know about the others. I am enjoying this blog so much!
Thanks! You might like the book I mentioned in the comment above. Or there is a newer one that is supposed to be great as well: Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.
Yeah I will definitely need to check that one out!
“What was with Marie Antoinette having to change the children’s names when she adopted them – and, poor Francois – called Jacques by his family anyway and then renamed Armand! Enough surely to make him a revolutionary! ”
This comment made me think of the book “A Tale of Two Cities”
What do the Jacques represent in A Tale of Two Cities?
Jacques the use of the name Jacques to signify French peasants began in the peasant revolts in 1358. To maintain anonymity and to show solidarity, rebels called each other by the same name. The network of rebels using the Jacques appellation is referred to as the Jacquerie.
(…)
The Parisian revolutionaries first began addressing each of other as “Jacques” during the Jacquerie, a 1358 peasant uprising against French nobility. The nobles contemptuously referred to the peasants by the extremely common name of “Jacques” in order to accentuate their inferiority and deny their individuality.
(…)
What is the significance of so many “Jacques” in Defarge’s wine shop? They are using the name “Jacque” as a common name for members of the revolution.
How ironic his name was initially Jacques. A rose is still a rose…
Thank you for your interesting comments.
I hadn’t realized that Jacques was a revolutionary name, but it does make sense, as it was a common name for the peasants.
For peasant women, the common name was Marianne. That name was adopted as the name for the personification of the French Republic – https://curiousrambler.com/the-changing-face-of-the-french-republic/
Now you have me thinking about names…
Thank you for bringing up such an interesting topic.