Tea at Trianon: A Gift for the Queen

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, April 28, 2011

A Gift for the Queen

Louis XVI gave a diamond-encrusted feather to Marie-Antoinette to encourage her to stop wearing plumes in her hair that were too tall. He said:

I beg you will limit yourself to this ornament, even of which your charms have no need. This present should please you the more that it has not increased my expenditure, since it is composed of diamonds I possessed when I was a dauphin.

lara77 said...: Elena Maria, THAT is absolutely exquisite! The workmanship defies any comment. Who would ever wear feathers when they could put this magical diamond feather in their hair. I also love how Louis XVI admits to holding down his expenditures because they were diamonds that already belonged to him! You would never hear Louis XIV make that comment!!; April 29, 2011 at 2:20:00 PM EDT
The North Coast said...: Who knew Louis XVI had such taste and artistry? This is a lovely ornament, obviously inspired by the king's love of his wife.

Thanks for all the great little vignettes of the day-to-day lives of these people, that reveal so much about their real personalities.; April 29, 2011 at 5:52:00 PM EDT
laughingsalmon said...: A gorgeous jewel indeed...It shows the intimate love and communication of MA and the King...Where is the diamond feather today?; April 30, 2011 at 9:38:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, NC, that is so true.

LS, I don't know.; April 30, 2011 at 4:06:00 PM EDT