Prisoners in the Tuileries

The royal family's arrival at the Tuileries Palace on October 6, 1789, marked the beginning of Marie Antoinette's transformation from queen to captive. The palace, uninhabited by royalty for over a century, was musty and ill-prepared. The contrast with Versailles was stark—where once thousands of courtiers competed for royal attention, now a handful of loyal servants struggled to maintain basic comfort.

Marie Antoinette's first words upon entering were reportedly, "How ugly everything is here, Mama!" to her daughter Marie-Thérèse. Yet she quickly set about making the best of their situation. She established routines for her children's education, created a small chapel for daily prayers, and attempted to maintain some semblance of royal dignity in drastically reduced circumstances.

The queen's household had shrunk dramatically. Many courtiers had fled abroad, becoming the first émigrés. Those who remained faced constant scrutiny from revolutionary authorities. Madame Campan, one of the few ladies-in-waiting to stay, described the strange new reality: guards at every door, servants suspected of spying, and the constant presence of hostile crowds outside the palace windows.

Daily life took on a surreal quality. The king and queen were required to appear at the palace windows to prove they hadn't escaped. Marie Antoinette would hold up the dauphin (now Louis-Charles) to the crowd, which might cheer or curse depending on the political mood. She maintained court ceremonies in miniature—a handful of nobles attending lever in a modest chamber rather than hundreds in the Hall of Mirrors.

The National Assembly, meeting nearby, treated the royal family as constitutional monarchs under house arrest. Deputies visited to discuss legislation, often showing barely concealed contempt. Marie Antoinette, excluded from these meetings, relied on secret correspondence to stay informed. Her letters from this period, smuggled out through loyal servants, reveal a woman desperately trying to influence events while maintaining a facade of acceptance.