The fifteenth child of Marie Teresa and Francis Stephen, she is named Marie Antoine at birth and adopts the "ette" upon her move to France. Antoinette is a pretty child but is greatly denied a loving relationship with her mother who takes on most of the duties of running the country. From an early age, she is taught obedience and grace, thought to be essential for a young girl destined to marry well in the royalty of the day. She is good-natured and her soft heart later captures the admiration of the people of France. However, she hasn't a great deal of interest in reading and writing and it's noted that she blots the letters of her name on her marriage certificate.