Tea at Trianon: Springtime in Paris 2022

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, March 19, 2022

Springtime in Paris 2022

Lovely pictures. Contrary to what the article states, Louis XIV was not married to Marie-Antoinette, who was his great-great-grandniece, and he was not married in a plaza in Paris. Neither was Marie-Antoinette, although she may have visited the Hôtel de Crillon. The Royal Family appeared to have used it after they were removed to Paris in 1789. The Queen usually had her music lessons at Versailles. From CR Fashionbook:

Artfully combine the grandeur and stateliness of an eighteenth century palace with twenty-first century elegance and you will get the Hôtel de Crillon, a luxury hotel positioned in the heart of Paris in the eighth arrondissement. The enduring history and contemporary taste makes this hotel the perfect travel destination for visiting the City of Love.

Converted from a mansion into a hotel in 1909, the hotel’s monumental structure was originally constructed in 1758 by renowned architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel under the commission of King Louis XV. Employing the finest artistry and craftsmanship, Gabriel built two twin structures with monumental Neoclassical facades to house royalty and the world’s leading ambassadors...A few years later, Antoinette began frequenting the mansion for piano lessons where she played in the first-floor salon which now bears her name. In 2013, the Hôtel de Crillon embarked on a major renovation with the goal of revitalizing the remarkable monument while maintaining its rich history and spirit. (Read more.)