Tea at Trianon: The Duchess of Angoulême in Her Youth

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

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Duchess of Angoulême in Her Youth

Here is a rare picture of Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte de France in 1805, during her exile in Courland, which was part of the Russian empire. She was six years into her marriage at the time.

In her heart, she had found her way home to Trianon, home to the garden of childhood peace and innocence. With the Abbé’s help, she had finally slipped through the garden gate.... She had found a garden where she would interiorly live, regardless of the vicissitudes of life, and turmoil of events that swirled around her.

~ from Trianon by Elena Maria Vidal

Marie-Antoinette and Madame Royale at Petit Trianon by Caraud

lara77 said...: THAT painting of Marie Therese kissing the Queen's cheek has to be one of my favorites! How nice to see a portrait of the Royal Family without the formality of sitting portraits. I am wondering who the woman is in the beautiful yellow gown? One can almost feel the fabric of her dress!; April 28, 2011 at 8:58:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I think it might be Madame de Mackau who took care of Madame Royale.; April 28, 2011 at 9:05:00 AM EDT
May said...: I wish I could step into that painting!; April 28, 2011 at 11:49:00 AM EDT
ImportanttoMadeleine said...: I've never seen this sweet painting and love it so much! Thank you for posting it today.; April 29, 2011 at 8:05:00 PM EDT