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Primary sourceLetter8 September 1791

Letter to Her Brother Emperor Leopold II

Marie Antoinette · 8 September 1791

A September 1791 letter from Marie Antoinette to her brother, the Austrian Emperor Leopold II, written after the royal family's failed flight from Paris.

Written by Marie Antoinette herself, this letter shows her private appeal to Austria during the Revolution.

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Handwritten French letter on aged cream paper in brown ink cursive script, page 1 with a blue oval 'Archives Nationales' stamp near the top center and a page number '1' at top right.
Marie Antoinette, letter to Emperor Leopold II, 8 September 1791. Archives Nationales, Paris.

About this source

What it is

This is a handwritten letter from Marie Antoinette to her brother, Emperor Leopold II of Austria, dated 8 September 1791. The original autograph letter is held by the Archives Nationales in France.

Why it matters

Written after the royal family's attempted flight to Varennes and Louis XVI's forced acceptance of a new constitution, the letter shows Marie Antoinette appealing directly to her brother for sympathy and support amid growing danger. This kind of direct contact with a foreign ruler was exactly what revolutionaries later used as evidence of treason against her. It shows the private, family side of a queen caught between loyalty to her birth family and the political crisis in France.

Look closer

  • What does the tone of the letter suggest about Marie Antoinette's state of mind at this time?
  • Why would revolutionaries view a private letter to a foreign emperor as dangerous?
  • What does this letter show about the limits of a queen's power during a revolution?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marie Antoinette on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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