Marie Antoinette was a queen.
Louis XVI of France . Discontent among the members of France 's middle and lower classes resulted in strengthened opposition to the French aristocracy and to the absolute monarchy , of which Louis and his wife , Queen Marie Antoinette , were viewed as representatives . Marie Antoinette ( [ ˈmæriˌæntwəˈnɛt ] , [ ˌɑ̃ːntwə - ] , [ ˌɑ̃ːtwə - ] , [ məˈriː - ] [ maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt ] ; born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna ( 2 November 1755 -- 16 October 1793 ) was the last Queen of France and Navarre before the French Revolution . In April 1770 , upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste , heir apparent to the French throne , she became Dauphine of France . A spendthrift ( also called profligate ) is someone who spends money prodigiously and who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful , often to a point where the spending climbs well beyond his or her means .