competing spheres of public life: the court at Versailles, the center and epitome of the Old Regime of formality, privilege, show and duty; and a new public sphere of press and public opinion.


The ceremonial wedding of the Dauphin and Dauphine took place on 16 May, 1770, in the Palace of Versailles, after which was the ritual bedding. It was assumed by custom that consummation of the marriage would take place on the wedding night. However, this did not occur, and the lack of consummation would plague the reputation of both the Dauphin and Dauphine for seven years. The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste was decidedly mixed. On the one hand, the Dauphine herself was popular among the people at large; her first official