Tea at Trianon: Queen Charlotte in 1769

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, December 10, 2013

Queen Charlotte in 1769

From Tiny-Librarian. I have the greatest respect and admiration for Charlotte, Queen of England but I do not understand why she is not remembered for luxurious clothes while Marie-Antoinette is, especially when Charlotte's clothes were more lavish than Antoinette's. Even Antoinette's grandest gowns had an air of simplicity. Share

2 comments:

julygirl said...: M.A. was more 'out there' for everyone to see, criticize and pass judgement upon, plus as you have pointed out, had enemies who wanted the Monarchs out of the way...; December 10, 2013 at 10:54:00 AM EST
The North Coast said...: Caroline just did not have as much going for her in the way of looks and personality as Antoinette did, being notably plain. A beautiful young woman is always going to get a lot more attention than a plain-faced woman well into middle age. And, even though her clothes were luxurious and extravagant, she did not have the sense of style that Marie did. Antoinette was a real style leader and did things with clothes that no one else had done, while Caroline was more conventional.; December 14, 2013 at 9:17:00 AM EST