Page "Marie Antoinette" Paragraph 16

In 1767, a smallpox outbreak hit the family.

Maria Antonia was one of the few who were immune to the disease because she already had contracted the disease at a young age.

Her sister, Maria Josepha, came down with it after visiting the improperly sealed tomb of her sister-in-law ( of the same name ), and died quickly afterwards.

This was not, however, due to her visit to the tomb ; she must have been infected sometime before visiting the tomb, because the rash appeared only two days after her visit.

Her mother, Maria Theresa, caught it and, though she survived, she suffered from the effects of the disease for the rest of her life.

Her sister, Maria Elisabeth, caught it but survived.

Her brother, Charles Joseph, and sister Maria Johanna, had already died of smallpox in 1761 and 1762 respectively.