A series of public missteps and private heartbreak have left the queen reeling from grief, in the next episode of Marie Antoinette on PBS.

Antoinette’s (Emilia Schüle) desire to punish Cardinal Rohan (Maximilien Seweryn) for the theft of a valuable diamond necklace did not play out as she hoped. The young Dauphin’s health problems have only add to her woe. Now, she’s about the learn that some of those closest to her have their own agenda. 

The queen admits the cardinal’s trial was a ‘mistake,’ in the next episode of ‘Marie Antoinette’ on PBS

Antoinette is in a vulnerable spot, both emotionally and politically, following Rohan’s trial in episode 6. The cardinal was acquitted, while the queen was exposed to ridicule and censure. She’s been publicly labeled an adulterer and a spendthrift, and her reputation is in tatters. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with Louis’ reign and his financial mismanagement of the government’s affairs is reaching a fever pitch, putting both the king and queen in serious jeopardy. 

To make matters worse, Antoinette has learned that Louis (Louis Cunningham) concealed the truth about the Dauphin’s fatal spinal condition from her. Naturally, she’s devasted at the thought of losing her child. 

In this exclusive clip from Marie Antoinette Season 2 Episode 7, “Madame Deficit,” the queen has a frank conversation with Lamballe (Jasmine Blackborow) about her situation. She admits that she should have followed her friend’s advice about not going through with the public trial, which she calls a “mistake.”

Then, she asks is Lamballe knew the truth about her son’s health. 

“No, of course not,” Lamballe replies. 

“Yolande knew. But she didn’t tell me,” Antoinette says. 

Lamballe reveals the truth about Yolande

Yolande (Liah O’Prey) might have kept quiet about the Dauphin’s health issues, but she did so at the request of Louis, who wanted to spare his wife from the truth for as long as possible. Still, Antoinette feels betrayed. 

“You would never keep anything like that from me,” she tells Lamballe. 

But Lamballe has been keeping a secret from her friend. Now, she comes clean, confessing what she witnessed on the night of Antoinette’s devastating miscarriage in episode 1, when she saw Yolande ignore the suffering queen so that she could follow through with her plan to get her friend Calonne named financial controller. With Calonne in charge of the public purse, Yolande would be able to skim fund to pay her own mounting debts.    

“[Calonne] was appointed the night you had that dreadful miscarriage,” Lamballe reveals. 

“Yolande saw you collapsed,” she continues. “But she didn’t raise the alarm. And she left you to bleed while she pushed Calonne for the job, and she denied…”

Antoinette doesn’t want to hear it, and she puts her hand over Lamballe’s mouth to stop her from speaking.

“I wanted to tell you so many times,” Lamballe says. “But I thought you wouldn’t believe me.”

“But I do believe you,” the queen replies. 

Perhaps at one point, Antoinette might have refused to accept that Yolande could betray her. But now, she’s realized there are vanishingly few people she can truly trust. And as life at court become ever more precarious and the political situation in France increasingly volatile, she will soon find herself in a truly dangerous situation. 

Marie Antoinette airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on PBS. All episodes are now streaming with PBS Passport. 

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