The Queen's Circle

As queen, Marie Antoinette could finally choose her own companions more freely. The circle she created around herself would become one of the most controversial aspects of her reign. At its center was the Princesse de Lamballe, whose loyalty and discretion made her invaluable. But it was the arrival of Yolande de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac, that would prove most significant.

The Polignac family represented a new type of courtier—charming, relatively unpretentious, and willing to provide the informal atmosphere Marie Antoinette craved. Yolande de Polignac became the queen's favorite, receiving appointments, pensions, and gifts that shocked established court families. The relationship, while generating scandalous rumors, seems to have been based on genuine friendship and Marie Antoinette's need for normalcy.

This inner circle created what critics called a "society within society" at Versailles. They gathered in the queen's private apartments for card games, music, and conversation that ignored rigid etiquette. Young nobles competed to join this charmed circle, while older courtiers fumed at being excluded. The Marquis de Bombelles wrote jealously about watching "upstarts" enter apartments where dukes waited in antechambers.

The servants who attended these gatherings painted a picture of relative simplicity compared to formal court functions. Marie-Jeanne Bertin, the queen's dressmaker, described evenings where Marie Antoinette would appear in simple muslin gowns, playing cards or listening to music "like any private lady." This informality, refreshing to participants, scandalized those who believed queens should maintain constant majesty.

The financial implications of this favoritism were serious. The Polignac family alone received over 700,000 livres annually in various appointments and gifts. While modest compared to the overall royal budget, these sums became symbols of royal profligacy in public perception. Critics failed to note that Marie Antoinette's favorites cost far less than the mistresses and courtiers of previous reigns.