Tea at Trianon: Elizabeth Howard

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 4, 2013

Elizabeth Howard

Thought by some to be a portrait of Elizabeth Howard

Anne Boleyn's mother. From author Judith Arnopp:

Elizabeth Howard was the eldest daughter of Thomas Howard (2^nd Duke of Norfolk) by his first wife, another Elizabeth – this time by the name of Tilney. Through her father’s line Elizabeth Howard was directly descended from Edward II.

John Howard, the old Duke of Norfolk fought in King Richard's vanguard and perished at the Battle of Bosworth. As a result his estates were forfeit and his heir, Thomas Howard, faced had an uphill battle to gain favour with the new Tudor king. His estates were not restored until 1489. As a girl, Elizabeth served in the household of his queen, Elizabeth of York, and later as lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon. During this period rumours began to circulate that the young Henry VIII was romantically involved with Elizabeth Howard but most historians now discount them. (Read entire post.)

Anonymous said...: I like very much looking back at the women in history and reading about them. My secret hope is to maybe learn from some of their mistakes, as we know that history has a tendency of revolving into circles and repeat itself.; April 5, 2013 at 1:54:00 AM EDT