Tea at Trianon: Dark Countess Proved False

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, July 31, 2014

Dark Countess Proved False

As if we didn't already know. People, however, won't believe anything unless it is confirmed by a DNA test. The odd triangular shape of the tomb is supposed to be a masonic symbol, or so I read once. Via Vive la Reine:

The scientific testing on the remains of the mysterious “Dark Countess” has finally been completed. The testing, which including DNA testing, concluded that the woman was not Marie Thérèse Charlotte, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, despite persistent rumors to the contrary.

Her real identity is not yet known, although further research may now be done in an attempt to uncover her real identity.

More information about the scientific research done on the remains and a documentary (in German) can be viewed at MDR. (Read more.)

Kaitlyn said...: I am glad to see such a ridiculous rumor finally put to rest. Not that there was ever any doubt.; July 31, 2014 at 11:59:00 AM EDT
May said...: Good, I'm glad! Marie-Thérèse doesn't need to be further besmirched by these rumors.; July 31, 2014 at 1:10:00 PM EDT