Monday, April 20, 2015

Marriage by Proxy: April 19, 1770

The Augustinian Church at the Hofburg in Vienna
April 19, 1770 was the day the Dauphin Louis-Auguste and Marie-Antoinette of Lorraine-Austria officially became husband and wife through a proxy marriage ceremony.


To quote:
On April 19th, 1770, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were married by proxy inside the Augustinian Church, which is located next to the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Many Habsburg weddings had taken place there, including that of Antoinette’s parents 34 years before.

The bride wore a cloth of silver gown, her train carried by Countess Trautmannsdorf as her mother led her up the aisle. Her older brother, Archduke Ferdinand, stood in for the groom.
A cloth of silver gown (Image source.)
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1 comment:

julygirl said...

It is tragic how the lives of young Royals in that era were traded and pawned for political purposes and alliances, and still the countries of Europe could not get along without constant warring.