Tea at Trianon: Queen Marie (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

Saturday, August 7, 2021

Queen Marie (2019)

I notice this film received bad reviews but I thought it was fabulous and accurate. Great acting, great costumes and filmed on location. It is the story of how a brave queen and mother uses all of her wits to save her people from the New World Order. Queen Marie is portrayed with all the dignity, decorum, magnetism and charm as befitting a granddaughter of Queen Victoria who was also a granddaughter of the Tsar. From Film Inquiry:

From the moment we first meet Queen Marie (Roxana Lupu), it’s clear she cares deeply for the Romanian people. Despite warnings that it’s not safe for her royal personage, she accompanies vans of much-needed supplies to the outskirts of the country, where repeated border skirmishes mean that for them, the war has still not ended. Romania is in desperate need of not only more aid for its people, but also recognition of its newly enlarged borders; if international leaders agree to officially recognize a united Greater Romania, the country may finally find peace.

However, Romanian Prime Minister Brătianu (Adrian Titieni) is not having much luck convincing men like French Prime Minister Clemenceau, UK Prime Minister Lloyd George, and U.S. President Wilson that the problems in his small country are worthy of their attention. It’s suggested that Queen Marie—already a popular figure at home and abroad, not to mention fluent in English—travel to Paris with her daughters to try a different, softer form of diplomacy. Many of the men in the Romanian government object to sending the queen on what they presume to be a fool’s errand, none more so than her eldest son, Prince Carol II (Anghel Damian), who resents his mother for trying to end his affair with an unsuitable woman. But in the end, Marie’s desire to do her bit wins out.
So, Queen Marie kisses her husband the king (and her lover, Prince Știrbey) goodbye and boards a train to Paris. Beautiful and outspoken, she instantly casts a spell over the French people and the press—but her efforts to win over Wilson, Lloyd George, and their ilk present a whole other challenge. (Read more.)