The future Louis XVI, at the age of 15, married Marie Antoinette, who was one year younger. The couple remained childless for seven years, apparently because they were unaware of the necessary procedures for procreation. Until Marie Antoinette’s brother, Emperor Joseph II, visited Paris in April 1777 and quickly realized the reason for the lack of an heir to the throne. Joseph II evidently instructed his sister, who announced her pregnancy the following year.
