Tea at Trianon: The Queen's Maid

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

Monday, December 31, 2007

The Queen's Maid

Here is an article about what it is like to serve Queen Elizabeth II.

Last week - after seeking permission from the Queen and Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, whom she looks upon as a mentor - Miss Kelly spoke for the first time about her role and her unwavering affection for her boss.
"I love the Queen and everything about her," she says. "I adore her - but then, so does everyone else. She is not 'my' Queen, she is everyone's and so I have to share her. Once she has chosen something to wear, I just want her to look good in it. I love seeing the faces of the public when they meet the Queen, and when she gives them that special smile. It makes me feel so proud of her.

Brantigny said...: Of course the article doesn't fail to mention she is a ROMAN Catholic.
Since it's mention is not expounded on later in the article I wonder aloud at the meaning of it's inclusion. Will there be an upinarms revolt at Buckingham when the English people find out?; December 31, 2007 at 10:59:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, I saw that, too, very interesting.; January 1, 2008 at 11:12:00 AM EST