Tea at Trianon: A Wedding at the Liria 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

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

A Wedding at the Liria Palace

The family of Fitz-James Stuart are direct descendants of James II, and therefore of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. From Tatler:

Let the world breathe a sigh of relief for Saturday marked one of Europe’s first society weddings in 18 months. The occasion saw the union of the scion of one of Spain’s most aristocratic families (the Albas) to the daughter of one of the country’s most powerful business families (the Corsinis).
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, the Count of Osorno and son of the Duke of Alba, married Belén Corsini at Madrid’s Liria Palace, an 18th century estate that has been in Carlos’ family for centuries. The intimate ceremony was attended by cousins and close friends, many of whom make up Spain’s aristocratic elite who were able to celebrate in style after Spain lifted their state of emergency. Guests included the Count’s older brother, Fernando Fitz-James Stuart, the Duke of Huéscar, and his wife Sofia Palazuelo, alongside a glamorous assortment of others.
The couple looked positively golden in the photographs documenting the special occasion. Belén dazzled in an elegant floor-length white gown by Spanish brand, Navascués, with slightly puffed shoulders, long sleeves and a delicate detachable tulle train, her hair swept back in a flowing high ponytail. Carlos, like his brother at his own wedding back in 2018, looked dashing in red military uniform. (Read more.)