Marie Antoinette was a queen.
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was an incident in 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France involving his wife , Queen Marie Antoinette . The royal Flight to Varennes ( Fuite à Varennes ) during the night of 20 -- 21 June 1791 was a significant episode in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France , his queen Marie Antoinette , and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution at the head of loyal troops under royalist officers concentrated at Montmédy near the frontier . 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 . The Diamond Necklace affair damaged her reputation further .