Editing Marie Antoinette (section)

===Early years (1774–1778)===
On 10 May 1774, upon the death of Louis XV, the dauphin ascended the throne as King Louis XVI of [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]] with Marie Antoinette as his [[queen consort]]. At the outset, the new queen had limited political influence with her husband, who, with the support of his two most important ministers, Chief Minister [[Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas|Maurepas]] and Foreign Minister [[Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes|Vergennes]], blocked several of her candidates from assuming important positions, including Choiseul.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1pp=136–37|2a1=d'Arneth|2a2=Geffroy|2y=1874|2pp=475–480}} The queen did play a decisive role in the disgrace and exile of the most powerful of Louis XV's ministers, the [[Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon|Duc d'Aiguillon]].{{sfnm|Castelot|1962|1pp=107–108|Fraser|2001|2pp=124–27|Lever|1991|3p=125}}

On 24 May 1774, two weeks after the death of Louis XV, the king gave his wife the [[Petit Trianon]], a small château on the grounds of Versailles that had been built by Louis XV for Madame de Pompadour. Louis XVI allowed Marie Antoinette to renovate it to suit her own tastes; soon rumours circulated that she had plastered the walls with gold and diamonds.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cronin|1974|p=215}}</ref>

[[File:Marie-Antoinette; koningin der Fransen.jpg|thumb|Queen Marie Antoinette wearing court [[Robe de cour|grand habit]] by Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty c.1775]]
The queen spent heavily on fashion, luxuries, and gambling, though the country was facing a grave financial crisis and the population was suffering. [[Rose Bertin]] created dresses for her, hairstyles such as ''[[pouf]]s'', up to three feet (90&nbsp;cm) high, and the ''[[panache]]—''a spray of feather plumes. She and her court also adopted the English fashion of dresses made of [[indienne]] (a material banned in France from 1686 until 1759 to protect local French woolen and silk industries), [[percale]] and [[muslin]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Michael|last1=Batterberry|first2=Ariane|last2=Ruskin Batterberry|title=Fashion, the mirror of history|publisher=Greenwich House|location=Greenwich, Connecticut|date=1977|isbn=978-0-517-38881-5|page=190}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=150–51}}</ref> As a result of all these fashion activities, Marie Antoinette presided over one of the most important and fashionable courts in history, and she was dominant over all of the other ladies of the court; as for her bearing and appearance the queen was very majestic and charismatic despite gaining much weight over the years with her many pregnancies.

The [[Flour War]] of 1775—a series of riots caused by the high prices of flour and bread—damaged her reputation among the general public. Eventually, Marie Antoinette's reputation was no better than that of previous kings. Many French people were beginning to blame her for the degrading economic situation, suggesting the country's inability to pay off its debt was the result of her wasting the crown's money.<ref>{{harvnb|Erickson|1991|pp=163}}</ref> In her correspondence, Maria Theresa expressed concern over her daughter's spending habits, citing the civil unrest it was beginning to cause.<ref>Thomas, Chantal. ''The Wicked Queen: The Origins of the Myth of Marie Antoinette''. Translated by Julie Rose. New York: Zone Books, 2001, p. 51.</ref>

As early as 1774, Marie Antoinette had begun to befriend some of her male admirers, such as the [[Pierre Victor Besenval de Bronstatt|Baron de Besenval]], the [[François-Henri de Franquetot de Coigny|Duc de Coigny]], and [[Count Valentin Esterhazy|Count Valentin Esterházy]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=140–45}}</ref>{{sfn|d'Arneth|Geffroy|1874|pp=400–410}} and also formed deep friendships with various ladies at court. Most noted was [[Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe|Marie-Louise, Princesse de Lamballe]], related to the royal family through her marriage into the [[Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre|Penthièvre family]]. On 19 September 1774, she appointed her superintendent of her household,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=129–31}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=131–32}}; {{harvnb|Bonnet|1981}}</ref> an appointment she soon transferred to her new favourite, the [[Yolande de Polastron|Duchess of Polignac]]. In 1774, she took under her patronage her former music teacher, the German opera composer [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]], who remained in France until 1779.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2001|pp=111–13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Howard |first1=Patricia |title=Gluck: An Eighteenth-century Portrait in Letters and Documents |date=1995 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-816385-5 |pages=105–15, 240–45}}</ref>