Historical Facts That Are Actually Wrong

Marie Antoinette Didn’t Say “Let Them Eat Cake”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote in his novel, Confessions, that a “great princess” said, “Let them eat cake”, in reference to France’s starving poor. And a lot of people attributed this quote to Marie Antoinette. However, there’s no evidence to support that she actually did say this. Lady Antonia Fraser actually claims that a different French process, Marie-Thérèse, proclaimed this 100 years before Antoinette’s rule. The quote has also been attributed to other royals in the past, including some Chinese dynasties.