The False Legend of Let Them Eat Cake

Marie Antoinette likely never said the phrase Let them eat cake. This famous quote was attributed to her by revolutionaries to make the queen appear detached from the suffering of starving citizens.

The line actually appeared in writings by Jean-Jacques Rousseau when Marie Antoinette was still a child living in Austria. It was a popular trope used at the time to mock out-of-touch royalty. In reality, the queen was known to donate to charities and was deeply concerned about poverty during her reign. Historians agree the story was purely propaganda designed to fuel the French Revolution.