Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793)
Her relationship with Marie-Antoinette was contentious. The first meeting of the two was during a family supper at the Château of La Muette on the 15th of May 1770, a day before the great wedding.
Jeanne had only been official mistress a little over a year, and many thought she would not be included in the list of guests for the occasion. It ended up being otherwise to the disgust of most of those present. Marie Antoinette noticed Jeanne, who stood out from the rest of the crowd with her attractive extravagant appearance and a high talkative voice.
The Comtesse de Noailles (Mme Etiquette) informed Marie Antoinette that the role of that woman was to give pleasure to the king, and the innocent 14-year-old archduchess added that she would thus be her rival at such a role.
The Comte de Provence soon after divulged the true nature of such pleasure, causing instant hatred in Antoinette towards Du Barry for such immorality. This rivalry kept on for quite some time, especially since also the dauphine supported Choiseul as the proponent of the alliance with Austria.
Marie Antoinette defied court protocol by refusing to speak to Madame du Barry, owing not only to her disapproval of the latter's background, but also after hearing from the Comte de Provence of Du Barry's amused reaction to a story told by the Prince de Rohan during one of her dinner parties, in which Marie Antoinette's mother, Maria Théresa , was slandered, adding therefore yet another foe to her list.[
Madame du Barry furiously complained to the king, who in turn complained to the Austrian ambassador Mercy, who in turn did his best in convincing Marie Antoinette to ease her ways. Eventually, during a ball on New Years's day 1772, Marie Antoinette spoke somewhat indirectly to Du Barry the words "There are many people at Versailles today.", giving her the option to take or leave, for they were tossed in her direction.
