Greg Jenner

He could be traumatized. Right. There's a lot of discussion over why was the marriage not consummated for so long. Seven years is a long time. We don't know if it was personal hesitation, whether it was health related. Maybe some things are just best lost to history. We don't know why. Seven years, we'll just sort of write that off. Okay, so with the unconsummated marriage already proving an issue, in 1774, so this was still four years into their not sleeping together problem, suddenly Louis was the king of France, because Louis XV died.

making Marie Antoinette the queen of France. So she was 19 just about? Just about 19. Okay, just turned 19. So the age at which we would normally maybe go to university or maybe get your first job. Her first job, queen. Yeah, that's a lot. What's the first thing she does, Kate, in terms of court politics? How does it go?

We need to talk about Marin Toinette and fashion. She's renowned for it. There's a new exhibition coming to the V&A museum soon about her sort of amazing clothes. Jen, do you know how many new dresses she ordered per year from her favourite dressmaker? Oh, I'm imagining in their hundreds. Yeah, it was 300. 300 a year? 300 a year, brand new dresses. So that's almost a new dress for every single day. Yeah. Can you tell us more about fashion and Marin Toinette's sort of role within it?

Meanwhile, another huge scandal breaks out. This one involving a very famous necklace. It's called the Diamond Necklace Affair. What happens?

Hän on edelleen ulkomaalainen, hän ei ole poliittisesti tarpeeksi tyhjä, ja hän on tehty patsiin tämän sortun heistiin. Ja me alamme saada paljon enemmän agressiivisia taitoja hänestä mediassa. Nämä ovat tavoitteet taitoja Mary Antoinette, jotka ovat tehtyä hänet humilioimaan, skandalisoimaan hänet. Hän on taitoja kingin kanssa, hän ei voi olla uskottu. Kaikki näitä asioita. Kaikki näitä.

I think the jury is still out as to how far they went. Oh, interesting. I think now most people will say she probably did have a physical relationship with him. He's the kind of fancy man, but all these other kind of rumours and scandals are false and designed to destroy her. So you've got this kind of real rising anti-monarchist. The movement is growing bigger and bigger against the monarchy, but also personally against Marie Antoinette.

So Kate, obviously Marie Antoinette's political career is in the context of what will become the French Revolution, which is caused by many factors, but what do we need to know?

Me tiedämme, miten tämä päättyy. Jumala on valmistautunut ensin. Ja sitten 1792, eikö? 1793 Jumala on valmistautunut. Hän on valmistautunut ensin. Hän on valmistautunut rikolle. Hän on löytänyt rikolle. Hän on valmistautunut. Se on erittäin tärkeä asia. Marianne ja Annette eivät ole samaa päivää, eivätkä ole samaa viikkoa, joten he ovat varmasti hieman pysyneet. Onko he keskustelleet, mitä heidän kanssaan tehdään?

Oh, that's heartbreaking. Isn't it? That's so heartbreaking. So she was executed. Do you want to guess how old she was at this point on her death? What are we, 17? So she's like young. What is she, in her 20s? No, 37. Oh, she's 37. Oh my gosh. Extraordinary life. I think, as you said at the beginning of the episode, Jen, a lot of the things we know about her are not true. But actually a lot of the things that the French people knew about her were not true. She was the victim of scandal and rumour and gossip.

Kiitos paljon, professori Kate. Kiitos, Jen. Ja kuuntelija, jos haluat enemmän Jenista, meillä on esiintyjät Emma of Normandyin. Ja tietenkin me teimme Hernán Cortés a Melintzin. Se oli erittäin mielenkiintoista. Ja for more controversial French queens, listen to our episode on Catherine de Medici. That one was a fun hoot.

Ja muistakaa, että jos tykkäsit podcastia, niin osaa videon ystävien kanssa. Tarkoita You're Dead to Meä BBC Soundin Yhdysvalloissa, jotta saat videon 28 päivää myöhemmin. Mutta haluaisin sanoa ison kiitoksen meidän esiintyjillemme History Cornerissa. Meillä oli mahtava professori Katherine Asprey Warrickin yliopistossa. Kiitos Kate.

And a comedy corner we have the brilliant Jen Brister. Thanks again, Jen. Oh, what a treat, Greg. Thank you. And to you, lovely listener, join me next time as we engage in some more historical myth-busting. But for now, I'm off to go and get my hands on my own delicious swede. Keep it classy, people. I'm talking about the root vegetable. Bye! That's a good one. Thank you. You're Dead to Me is a BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.

My name is Greg Jenner.

I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.

Today we're mounting our war elephants and marching back to the ancient Mediterranean to learn all about the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca.

And joining our campaign, we have two very special comrades in arms.

In History Corner, she's Professor of Ancient History at the University of Cambridge and a specialist on Roman, North African and Phoenician history and archaeology.

You might have read her award-winning book In Search of the Phoenicians or her best-selling award-nominated new one, How the World Made the West, a 4,000-year history.

It's brilliant.