Tea at Trianon: Marie-Antoinette's Veil

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

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Marie-Antoinette's Veil

Many people ask what became of Queen Marie-Antoinette's clothes and jewels after the fall of the monarchy. People particularly want to know what became of her wedding gown. Like many of the queen's gowns which were designed for special occasions, the wedding gown was probably made into a set of vestments and donated to the Church. A veil, which may have been worn at her weddding, later graced the head of the niece of Tsar Nicholas II, Princess Irina, when she was married to Prince Felix Youssopov. As Felix wrote in his memoirs:

We were quite overwhelmed with gifts: the most gorgeous jewels as well as the simplest and most touching presents from our peasants.... Irina's wedding dress was magnificent; it was of white satin embroidered in silver with a long train. Her veil, which had belonged to Marie-Antoinette was held by a tiara of rock crystal and diamonds.

As for her other gowns, the queen would usually have them refurbished so that they could continue to be worn. Those that were not eventually recreated into vestments were given to the lady-in-waiting in charge of the wardrobe, who could then sell them or keep them as souvenirs.

As for the jewels, a few pieces were smuggled out of the country before the fall of the monarchy and eventually came to the queen's daughter Madame Royale. Most of the royal jewels fell into the hands of the revolutionaries in August 1792 and scattered to the four winds. Napoleon managed to gain possession of some of the crown jewels. Over the next several generations, jewels that had belonged to Marie-Antoinette would turn up in various places, such with the Youssopov family in Russia. To trace the fate of all the jewels extensive detective work is required and the findings would certainly fill a tome. The best lesson from it all is Sic transit gloria mundi.
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