Tea at Trianon: Remembering the Romanovs

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

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Remembering the Romanovs

It is the anniversary of the massacre of the Russian Imperial family which occurred on the night of July 16-17, 1918.
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5 comments:

Lucy said...: Hi Elena:) Their story is one that I know so little about and want to find out so much more (I actually suggested this to Matterhorn as well). It sounds klike such a fascinating story. I went to the link and one thing is sure -and I've read it before is that the Tsar absolutely loved his wife. That is refreshing and rare for most royals. Thanks:); July 16, 2009 at 1:40:00 PM EDT
May said...: Such a beautiful family, I want to do a series of posts on them in the next few weeks.; July 16, 2009 at 4:15:00 PM EDT
Jackie Parkes MJ said...: Fascinating story..intrigues me always..; July 17, 2009 at 5:40:00 AM EDT
lara77 said...: When one thinks of the horrors that Russia endured after the massacre of the Romanovs; so many similarities to the murders of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Both France and Russia suffered at the hands of despots promising work and freedom. Both revolutions were disasters and it was the innocents that suffered.; July 17, 2009 at 1:48:00 PM EDT
Adrienne said...: Such pretty people and such a sad story...; July 18, 2009 at 9:14:00 PM EDT