Marie Antoinette: Secret letters reveal relationship with Axel von Fersen

Historical research and recovered documents have shed new light on the private life of Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. Beyond her public image of luxury and fashion, her marriage to Louis XVI was a political alliance that lacked intimacy for the first seven years.

Technological advancements, including X-ray imaging, have allowed researchers to recover fragments of secret letters between the Queen and Count Axel von Fersen, a Swedish officer. These messages contain intense declarations of affection, including a January 1792 letter where she wrote, ‘I love you madly and there is not a moment when I do not adore you.’

Born in 1755 in Vienna as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette remains a highly controversial and iconic figure. Her life was marked by political tension, social scandal, and a tragic end that deeply influenced European culture and fashion.