The coronation of Louis XVI, her husband, took place during the height of a bread shortage in Paris. This is the context in which Marie Antoinette isincorrectly quoted as joking, "If they have no bread, then let them eat cake!" There is no evidence that this phrase was ever uttered by Marie Antoinette.
When Marie Antoinette actually heard about the bread shortage she wrote, "It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The king seems to understand this truth; as for myself, I know that in my whole life (even if I live for a hundred years) I shall never forget the day of the coronation."
Aww...
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The next thing you're going to tell me is that Barbara Bush didn't say the following, about the refugees of Hurricane Katrina packed into the Houston Astrodome:
"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them."
But, of course, she did.
At the time, she was often compared to Marie Antoinette. But now we can finally agree that this is an unfair comparison.
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