Tea at Trianon: Grace Influential

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, April 10, 2021

Grace Influential

From Penta:

When recalling the late Princess Grace of Monaco, one thinks of beauty, glamour, a fairytale romance. But rarely, if ever, Instagram.That may change starting today, with the launch of “Grace Influential,” a new global initiative that features a website, social media platform, and a basic belief that the icon—a trendsetter in her lifetime—can be a 21st-century influencer nearly 40 years after her death. The campaign, rolling out in coming months with a series of events and luxury-brand partnerships, is geared to amplify the philanthropic causes she loved to support—including the arts, women’s empowerment, and child welfare—while introducing her timeless fashion sense and chic Riviera lifestyle to a new generation of fans. This marks a shift from a more cautious management of her “brand,” a move spearheaded by her son, Monaco’s ruling Prince Albert II.

“As a young boy, I often traveled with my mother and, even at an early age, I felt such a sense of responsibility to take care of her,” he recalls via email, in an exclusive interview with Penta. “Now I see the opportunity for new generations to be as inspired as I was.”

Philadelphia native Grace Kelly found fame in Hollywood, earning an Academy Award for The Country Girl in 1955. Then came love and a palatial address when she married Monaco’s Prince Rainier III in 1956. Though she died at just 52, in a car accident along a twisting mountain road outside Monaco in 1982, her image and an indefinable mystique live on.

“Grace Influential comes at a defining moment,” says Prince Albert, 63. “At present, my mother’s memory remains in so many people’s minds and hearts around the world. Not a day goes by that she isn’t referenced by established and up-and-coming artists.” (Read more.)