Tea at Trianon: Who Cares About the British Monarchy?

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

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Who Cares About the British Monarchy?

Many people do. And I can tell you, just from the hits I get on this blog, that they also care a great deal about the French monarchy, even though it no longer officially exists. To quote:

As the world delights with its first glimpse of the British Monarchy’s new heir, naturally no one is more proud and interested than the British. But they are not the only ones who care about the new Royal; Americans are running a close second. We fought a war with Britain, declared our independence and explicitly rejected all titles of aristocracy in our constitution. But now we care about who is third in line for the throne?

One might ask if this interest is the fruit of nurture or nature, and it certainly does not appear to be nurture, as Americans in general have not been educated to understand what a monarchy is all about. So why this profound and lively interest in the new prince?

There is something to be said for the notion that all men implicitly know that we are all equal in our essence and unequal in our accidents. It is through our accidents that men distinguish themselves from one another, and that royalty does, well…royally. Some might argue the Marxist line that all monarchs are nothing more than selfish strongmen who imposed their will upon the oppressed proletariat. While this is true of Socialist dictators, it does not match the historical record regarding most monarchies. What really characterizes a monarch is an ability to personify his people as a symbol.

That is why even in an age of declining democracy, the monarch survives with great popularity all over the world. Its dominance does not rest upon oppression but rather on the monarch’s ability to represent a people and convey an ideal image of his nation to the world. (Read more.)

lara77 said...: I read recently that a monarch is the symbol of the nation and rises above the political fray; unlike Presidents in republics. One just has to look at France; more than half the nation despises Hollande and a few years earlier half of France hated Sarkozy! How is a President a symbol of a nation when half hate him? He is nothing more than a politician. That is why Britain and Queen Elizabeth II have been such a great success. The monarch is the symbol of the continuity of British tradition and heritage. The Fifth Republic in France is the symbol of the constant upheaval and calamity of France's heritage and political life.; August 14, 2013 at 8:52:00 AM EDT