Tea at Trianon: The Queen is not pleased...

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Queen is not pleased...

...with Tony Blair. Via The Monarchist. Share

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: Well, I wasn't able to get through all the responses -- secularly, it's laborious even if hilarious (like reading Waugh without knowing it'll somehow be alright), and it threw me to read of "grotty" politicians as I'd always thought the word was "crotty".. *sigh, but at any rate, I've wondered if Helen Mirren's portrayal of her is fairly accurate. I'm presuming that's a movie not shown in G.B.? I've come to like the idea of quiet regal decorum, if the alternative is a leader (or figurehead) flipping someone the bird or joking about the death penalty, etc.

Gypsy; May 29, 2007 at 9:57:00 AM EDT
Terry Nelson said...: Actually, "The Queen" is shown in GB and Her Majesty invited Mirren to tea because she likes Mirren and evidently appreciated the film.; May 29, 2007 at 2:33:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Oh, thanks, Terry, now I want to see it more than ever. I love Helen Mirren.; May 29, 2007 at 3:29:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: It's a good movie and an excellent interpretation done by Helen Mirren. People need to remember that the Queen comes from a different generation where people were not so vocal about expressing their 'feelings'.
I also think the actor who portrays Tony Blair comes off fairly well too. One gets to see the 'spin' machinist's at work.

The person who comes out poorly is Prince Charles, who throughout tries to implicate the Queen, while saving his own skin! But I wont say more lol.

Grotty means dirty or dirty business, underhand etc.

Also though Helen Mirren was invited to the Palace she declined the invitation..the Queen is NOT pleased with that either lol.

BTW Elena:)

I watched 'Marie Antionette' *rolls eyes* yes I know you warned me..what a stupid film very amateurish. I wonder how actors like Kirsten Dunst and Judy Davis would accept such a badly written script...all that flipping giggling, drove me NUTS! LOL!

Well these are my movie reviews lol.

Yours in friendship,

Marie; May 30, 2007 at 12:50:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, Marie, for the review and the information. Hopefully, I will be able to see it this weekend.

Yes, "amateurish" best describes the Coppola film. If only she had let her father direct it....; May 30, 2007 at 7:11:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: +JMJ+

This is verging way off topic, but I'm really surprised that Helen Mirren turned down an invitation from the queen. Didn't she say during the Barbara Walters interview that playing Elizabeth made her not just like the Queen more, but actually grow to love her? :S; May 30, 2007 at 11:17:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, I wonder why Helen did not join the queen for tea?; May 30, 2007 at 6:06:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: Helen Mirren told the Court Officials that she was filming. But I am sure her producers would have allowed her time off.

Helen Mirren's own family though are Anti-Monarchy.

Perhaps Helen simply wants to admire the Queen from a distance..nothing worse than meeting someone you admire only to find they have clay feet.

BTW I have met the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Diana. Have any others met them or anyone famous?

Yours in friendship,

Marie; May 31, 2007 at 12:37:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: When I was 14 years old I saw the queen drive by in Kingston, Ontario. That is as close as I ever got to royalty. Marie, that is so interesting that you got to meet them. I heard that Helen's family were Russian but not that that were anti-monarchy; that is interesting, too.; May 31, 2007 at 7:55:00 AM EDT