Tea at Trianon: King Chulalongkorn and Consorts

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, February 9, 2022

King Chulalongkorn and Consorts

The royalty of Siam (Thailand) had much in common with the ancient Egyptians. From History of Royal Women:

King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Thailand) was born on 20 September 1853 as the son of King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra – his parents were great-uncle and great-niece and were 30 years apart in age. His mother died on 9 September 1862, and her sister continued to act as his father’s consort. Prince Chulalongkorn received a broad education – some of it was portrayed in the film Anna and the King. Chulalongkorn’s father, Mongkut, had at least 32 wives and concubines who gave him at least 82 children.

Mongkut died on 1 October 1868, and he was succeeded as King by Chulalongkorn. At the time, young Chulalongkorn was sick with malaria and was also believed to be dying, and so Mongkut ordered a new successor to be chosen who could “save the country.” Chulalongkorn survived the malaria attack, and his first coronation was held on 11 November 1868. Chulalongkorn would also become the father of many children – at least 77 by 92 consorts. His first child was born in 1867 before he became King.

Several of his consorts were also his half-sisters. These marriages were usually done to keep the bloodline pure and the power within the right family. It is perhaps no surprise that many of their children did not survive or if they did, their health was weak. (Read more.)