Tea at Trianon: Trump in England, 2019

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

Monday, June 10, 2019

Trump in England, 2019

Her Majesty greets the President and First Lady

The State Banquet at Buckingham Palace

The Duchess of Cambridge at the State Banquet

Menu for the Dinner at Winfield House for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

At Winfield House

From The Guardian:

Trump, during an interview with Fox News, said people had noticed how well he and the Queen had connected. He said: “The meeting with the Queen was incredible. I think I can say I really got to know her because I sat with her many times and we had automatic chemistry, you will understand that feeling. It’s a good feeling. But she’s a spectacular woman.”

When asked by the broadcaster’s Laura Ingraham if he fist-bumped the Queen, Trump said: “I did not, but I had a great relationship, we had a really great time.

“There are those that say they have never seen the Queen have a better time, a more animated time. We had a period we were talking solid straight, I didn’t even know who the other people at the table were, never spoke to them. We just had a great time together.”

Trump, when asked if he would keep the conversation going, added: “Yes I am, she is a spectacular woman, an incredible woman.” (Read more.)

In Normandy

The dinner at Winfield House. From The Daily Mail:

The President of the United States last night hosted the heir to the British throne at an intimate 60-person black tie dinner at the official residence of the US Ambassador, Winfield House in Regent’s Park. Mr Trump and Prince Charles were joined by their wives, the Prime Minister, and officials and dignitaries from both nations for the three-course meal in London, which was held to reciprocate Monday night’s lavish banquet in the Buckingham Palace ballroom. In contrast to the sophisticated Palace menu which included steamed halibut and strawberry sable, - and was served with a £2,000-a-bottle Chateau Lafite - last night's fare was closer to the heart of the teetotal President with a taste for plain food: beef, potatoes, ice cream, and £30-a-bottle Californian red wine. It came at the end of a busy day for the President in which he held a joint press conference with Theresa May, met privately with Nigel Farage, and avoided a smaller-than-expected protest in central London. (Read more.)

More on the State visit, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. Share