On the morning of October 16, 1793, Henri Sanson entered the prison cell housing Marie Antoinette, the 37-year-old former queen of France who only hours before had been convicted of treason and sentenced to death. The red-hooded executioner sheared Marie Antoinette’s beloved locks to allow for a quick, clean cut of his guillotine blade. Moments after cutting her hair, Sanson cut off her head as a joyous crowd cheered, “Vive la nation!” On the 220th anniversary of her execution, learn 10 surprising facts about Marie Antoinette. Getty Images 1. Marie Antoinette was born an Austrian princess. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, Archduchess Marie Antoinette was the 15th and last child of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and the powerful Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. 2. She was only 14 years old when she married the future Louis XVI. To seal the newfound alliance between longtime enemies Austria and France that had been forged by the Seven Years’ War, the Austrian monarchs offered the ...