Editing Marie Antoinette (section)

==Flight, arrest at Varennes and return to Paris (21–25 June 1791)==
{{Main|Flight to Varennes}}
[[File:Arrest of Louis XVI and his Family, Varennes, 1791.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|Arrest of the royal family at the house of the registrar of passports at [[Varennes-en-Argonne|Varennes]] on the night of 21–22 June 1791, by [[Thomas Falcon Marshall]], 1854]]

There had been several plots designed to help the royal family escape, which the queen had rejected because she would not leave without the king, or which had ceased to be viable because of the king's indecision. Once Louis finally did commit to a plan, its poor execution was the cause of its failure. In an elaborate attempt known as the Flight to Varennes to reach the [[Monarchism|royalist]] stronghold of [[Montmédy]], some members of the royal family were to pose as the servants of an imaginary "Madame de Korff", a wealthy Russian baroness, a role played by [[Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel]], governess of the royal children.

After many delays, the escape was ultimately attempted on 21 June 1791, but the entire family was arrested less than 24 hours later at [[Varennes-en-Argonne|Varennes]] and taken back to Paris within a week. The escape attempt destroyed much of the remaining support of the population for the king.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=325–48}}</ref>{{sfn|Lever|1991|pp=555–568}} Upon learning of the capture of the royal family, the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]] sent three representatives—[[Antoine Barnave]], [[Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve]] and [[Charles César de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg]]—to Varennes to escort Marie Antoinette and her family back to Paris. On the way to the capital they were jeered and insulted by the people. During the trip Barnave, the representative of the moderate party in the Assembly, protected Marie Antoinette from the crowds, and even [[Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve|Pétion]] took pity on the royal family. Brought safely back to Paris, they were met with silence by the crowd. Thanks to Barnave, the royal couple was not brought to trial and was publicly exonerated of any crime in relation with the attempted escape.{{sfnm|Lever|1991|1pp=569–575|Castelot|1962|2pp=385–398}}

Marie Antoinette's first Lady of the Bedchamber, [[Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan]], wrote about what happened to the queen's hair on the night of 21–22 June, "...in a single night, it had turned white as that of a seventy-year-old woman." (''En une seule nuit ils étaient devenus blancs comme ceux d'une femme de soixante-dix ans.'')<ref>''Mémoires de Madame Campan, première femme de chambre de Marie-Antoinette'', Le Temps retrouvé, Mercure de France, Paris, 1988, p. 272, {{ISBN|2-7152-1566-5}}</ref>