Inspiration

6 Life Lessons We Can Learn from Marie Antoinette

When we think of the strongest, most powerful, most kick-butt women in history, eventually we start listing off queens: Elizabeth I, Isabella I, Catherine the Great, Rani Lakshmibai, what have you. No wonder so many of us comment “#QUEEN” under the Instagram posts of our fave ladies. Don’t we all look up to – and kind of want to be – women powerful enough to rule over men, conquer new lands, show potential suitors we mean business, and generally win at royal life? I’d say that’s a yes.

Marie Antoinette didn’t do any of that. Not really.

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See, while Marie Antoinette was the legit Queen of France, she wasn’t as politically involved as Elizabeth, Isabella, or any of the other mentioned queens. She wasn’t a warrior monarch or a fierce figurehead. She was controversial and reviled by many. Yet she’s still my favorite queen of all time.

In the age of “#Girlboss” and “Lean In,” women have more career options and role models than ever, and that’s fantastic! But do all of us have to be CEOs, business moguls, or tech geniuses? What if some of us would prefer a more laid-back, artistic – even carefree – lifestyle? I say “do you,” and Marie Antoinette did as well, way back in the 1700s. (Even if it may have gotten her killed.)

Though she’s not your traditional queen, Marie Antoinette fully embraced her own approach to life – and that, I think, is worth appreciating. Below are six life lessons we can learn from her story.

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Mon amie, if you’ve never had a macaron before, then get thee to a bakery. These light, delicate, French sandwich cookies are quite trendy right now, but they’ve been around forever – so long, in fact, that they were known as one of Marie Antoinette’s favorite snacks. The queen was also fond of chocolate, insisting on starting each day with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and an orange blossom. She even had her own personal chocolate-maker. (As if the hairdresser wasn’t enough!)

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