Tea at Trianon: Five Royal Residences in London

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

Friday, September 29, 2017

Five Royal Residences in London

From Londontopia for Londonphiles:

Kensington Palace has been a Royal residence since the 17^th Century, it was built by Sir George Coppin and became the home of King William III and Queen Mary II after becoming joint monarchs in 1689. After their deaths, it became the residence of Queen Anne and was later the birthplace of Queen Victoria, though Victoria would come to prefer another home on this list. King George II would become the last monarch to live in the palace, and from the time of King George III-onward, it would be a home for other members of the Royal Family. Presently, it is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, as well as the Gloucesters and Prince Harry. What’s more, being a Historic Royal Palace, it’s also a major tourist attraction, though the residences aren’t typically available to tour. (Read more.)