2 verifications about Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette ×
“Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake.”
The claim is not supported by the historical record. Major reference sources report no reliable evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said “Let them eat cake,” and the underlying “brioche” anecdote appears earlier in Rousseau without naming her. The attribution to Marie Antoinette emerged decades after her death, which fits a later myth rather than a documented quote.
“Marie Antoinette said the phrase "Let them eat cake" in response to being told that peasants had no bread.”
This claim is false. There is no historical evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said "Let them eat cake." The phrase predates her, appearing in Rousseau's Confessions (written 1765–1769) attributed to an unnamed princess when Marie Antoinette was still a child in Austria. The first printed attribution to her appeared only in 1843 — fifty years after her execution. Multiple authoritative sources confirm the quote is a myth rooted in political propaganda, not a documented historical event.