Tea at Trianon: Henry VIII’s ‘Lost Palace’

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

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Henry VIII’s ‘Lost Palace’

From The Express:

And the grandest of them all was revealed by historian Dr Suzannah Lipscomb during Channel 5’s ‘London: 2,000 Years of History’ documentary. She said: “Henry’s impact on London began in an area that is now called Whitehall, in Westminster.
“Today it houses government offices, but in the Tudor period, there was an enormous mansion here that belonged to the King’s advisor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
“In Tudor London, he was the second most influential man after the King – he was Lord Chancellor, he was head of the Catholic Church in England and he built himself fantastic palaces.
“That was his first mistake, but added to that – in 1529, Henry wanted to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn and Wolsey failed to get an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon – that was his second.
“In retaliation, Henry had Wolsey charged with treason and seized the Cardinal’s desirable London residence for himself.”
The expert went on to explain how Henry made it his own.
She added: “He extended it massively, creating his Whitehall Palace – it was incredible – the largest palace in Europe and the new centre of power in the capital.
“Tragically, Henry VIII’s palace was gutted by fire in 1698, but not all of it was lost – I’m here at the offices of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at Whitehall, and I’m very lucky to get access.
“I’ve been given permission to see something I’ve never seen before – this area is off-limits to the public and filming is very carefully controlled for security reasons.
“I’m going down below the MoD’s modern corridors to see what remains of Henry VIII’s lost palace.
“This is incredible, it is a vaulted chamber and it was Henry’s wine cellar from his Whitehall Palace.”
Whitehall Palace was the main royal residence from 1530 to 1698 when most of its structure was destroyed in a fire.
But Dr Lipscomb detailed how it was once a commanding complex and why it was one of Henry’s favourite spots.
She continued in 2020: “This is a palace that dominated this area of London and this is the only part that survives of it. It is a place where he lived, he married and he died. (Read more.)