Tea at Trianon: Mrs. Fitzherbert

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

Friday, September 5, 2008

Mrs. Fitzherbert

She was the morganatic wife of George IV, whom he privately married in 1785 when he was still only the Prince of Wales. George had many ladies in his life, but his great love was undoubtedly Maria Fitzherbert, a devout Catholic widow who would not live with him outside of wedlock. They were together for many years. The marriage was considered illegal by the British government; an heir to the throne could not marry a Roman Catholic or without the King's permission. George eventually had to make a political marriage with a German princess, against his will. It was a legal marriage in England but was considered invalid by Rome; Maria was told by the Pope that she was the prince's true wife. However, because of his philandering, she had to seek a separation from him in 1811. He died in 1830 with Maria's miniature portrait around his neck. Share

2 comments:

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said...: I've always thought that the story of the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert was so sad. If he only had been able to marry her with the approval of Parliament and the Crown. I think that she provided some balance in his life, for awhile kept him from being too excessive. I still can't believe that even today no member of the Royal family can marry a Catholic and stay in the line of succession.; September 10, 2008 at 9:45:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I agree, Elizabeth, about the Prince and about the ban on marrying Catholics. It is an unjust and antiquated rule. I was thinking the same thing when I was reading your post about Princess Michael of Kent.; September 10, 2008 at 10:06:00 AM EDT