Tea at Trianon: The Spanish Princess

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, January 9, 2019

The Spanish Princess

Charlotte Hope as Katherine of Aragon

I have never been a Philippa Gregory fan but I must say that the way they portray Katherine of Aragon in the upcoming television series The Spanish Princess is beautiful. It sounds politically-correct but at least they are able to capture Katherine's beauty and spirit which charmed the family of Henry VII, especially the princes. I hope they do not leave out Princess Mary again, since she and Katherine were friends. More HERE and HERE.

Susan, TOF said...: The actress in the photos, who I assume is portraying Catherine of Aragon, is absolutely lovely! So is her gown and mantilla!; January 9, 2019 at 1:18:00 PM EST
Unknown said...: Its good to see a show on her but i am,sick of the Tudors.; January 9, 2019 at 8:27:00 PM EST