Tea at Trianon: Last Queen of Iceland

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

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Last Queen of Iceland

From Royal Central:

In 1918 the relationship between Denmark and the country Iceland was redefined. Iceland had been part of the realm of Denmark for some time, but on 1 December 1918, Iceland became an independent country, a sovereign state. However, Denmark and Iceland were still bound together by a common monarch; King Christian X became King Kristján X and Queen Alexandrine was known as Queen Alexandría in Iceland. King Kristján was the first and only monarch to rule over Iceland as a sovereign country.

During World War Two, the royal couple were very popular and acted as national symbols. Queen Alexandrine, in particular, was praised for her loyalty to Denmark over her birth country of Germany. It was said of the Queen “Protect our Queen, the only German we would like to keep!”

Sadly, it was not long before Denmark fell under German occupation, which lasted until the end of the war in 1945. The Royal Family remained in Denmark along with the government, though they were under German control, especially after 1943 when the country was under full military occupation. The King and Queen were looked upon as national symbols and symbols of hope during this time. As for Iceland, occupation by England and the USA to protect the country and the German occupation of Denmark meant that it became impossible for the King to govern over both nations and the union began to crumble. Before the war ended, Iceland became a republic in June 1944; King Christian sent a letter of congratulations to his former subjects from his home in Denmark. This meant that Queen Alexandría was the last Queen of Iceland. (Read more.)