The Court of Versailles

Nothing in Marie Antoinette's Austrian upbringing had prepared her for the byzantine complexity of Versailles. The palace was not merely a royal residence but a carefully calibrated machine for displaying and maintaining royal power. Every action, from the king's morning lever to the evening coucher, was a public ceremony with strict rules and hierarchies.

The Countess de Noailles, whom Marie Antoinette quickly nicknamed "Madame Etiquette," became her guide through this labyrinth. Every day brought new lessons in protocol: who could sit in the royal presence, who could hand the dauphine her chemise, in what order courtiers should be acknowledged. The young dauphine, accustomed to the relative informality of the Austrian court, found these rules suffocating and often absurd.

The palace servants observed their new mistress with interest and, initially, sympathy. Jean-Baptiste Cléry, who worked in the royal household, later wrote about Marie Antoinette's early attempts to befriend the staff, speaking to them directly and inquiring about their families—behavior that scandalized Madame de Noailles but endeared her to many servants. However, this informality also made her vulnerable to manipulation by those who saw her inexperience as an opportunity.

The physical environment of Versailles itself was overwhelming. The palace contained over 700 rooms, with thousands of courtiers, servants, and hangers-on creating a constant bustle. Marie Antoinette's apartments, while luxurious, offered little privacy. Courtiers had the right to enter her rooms according to their rank, meaning she was rarely alone. Even her most intimate moments—dressing, bathing, eating—were performed before an audience.

The established court ladies viewed the new dauphine with a mixture of curiosity and calculation. The Duchesse de Chartres wrote to a friend about Marie Antoinette's "charming naiveté" but also noted how various factions were already trying to influence her. The competition to become part of her inner circle was fierce, with families investing fortunes in clothes and jewels to catch her attention.