Marie Antonia in cradle
1755
November 15: Empress Maria Thérèse of Austria gives birth to her fifteenth child, Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna.
1756
Seven Years’ War begins, with Austria and France as allies for the first time. The struggle focuses on the colonial rivalry between France and England and the fight in Germany between the house of Austria and the rising kingdom of Prussia.
1760
Maria Antonia lives a carefree early childhood, and receives a typical education for a young lady: one that focuses more on religion and moral principles than on the academic subjects in which their brothers were instructed.
Maria Antonia as shepherdess in ballet
1763
Seven Years’ War ends. To preserve the alliance between France and Austria, it is arranged that France's Louis XV's grandson should marry Maria Antonia.
A popular legend from around this time claims that Maria Antonia meets Mozart.
1765
Maria Antonia's father, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, dies.
Louis XVI as the dauphin (prince)
1770
April 21: Empress Maria Theresa sends 14-year-old Maria Antonia to France to marry Louis-Auguste.
May 7: Maria Antonia leaves behind her Austrian clothing, crosses the Rhine river border, and is welcomed by French court messengers.
