Tea at Trianon: Restoration of the Queen's Hameau

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

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Restoration of the Queen's Hameau

The hameau de la reine is now fully restored. Let us get some facts straight. It was not a "pretend" peasant village but a working farm. The queen brought destitute families to live in the cottages and to maintain the gardens and livestock. The food generated by the farm fed both the peasants and the royal family. Both Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette wanted to give the nobles encouragement to wise land management by making it fashionable to be self-sufficient by living off the land. Potatoes were cultivated there before being introduced to the people as a new staple crop. From The Daily Mail:

Marie Antoinette's stunning hamlet in the grounds of the Château de Versailles has opened to the public for the first time after an enormous £326million restoration project. The Hameau de la Reine, constructed more than two centuries ago in 1783, is situated two kilometres away from the main chateau in north central France and served as a haven for the queen. Modelled on her vision of a countryside farm, she used it to entertain guests, introduce royal children to nature and animals - and even reportedly to play 'dress up' when she got bored of palace life. (Read more.)

Of course, Marie-Antoinette would not wear formal attire when spending time at the farm; she would dress in the simple attire which she favored, and then of course is even today ridiculed for dressing like a peasant. Incidentally, the picture of the girl in the blue dress in the Mail article is not the Queen but her sister Archduchess Maria Josefa who died as a teenager.

Marie-Antoinette had her own house on the farm where she would host receptions for foreign guests as well as parties for family and friends. From Connexion:

Jérémie Benoit, head of restoration of the hamlet, said: “We had a building that was in a real state of decrepitude. So we absolutely needed to start with everything [from the ground up]; including the foundations and the beams.” Visitors can now explore the lake and grounds, the rustic exterior buildings, and the sumptuous interior designs, the latter of which demonstrate the same attention to detail and royal style as that seen at Versailles itself. This is because, although Marie-Antoinette desired a farm, she still wanted it to offer similar levels of style and comfort as the main château, especially indoors. As well as the exterior and interior of the place, the exhibition will also explain the queen’s use of the hamlet, and shed light on the huge parties she held there. (Read more.)

More HERE.

More about Marie-Antoinette's village at Trianon,HERE.

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