Tea at Trianon: That Ascot Feeling...

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, July 20, 2022

That Ascot Feeling...

From Redbook:

The Royal Ascot has been one of the most popular horse racing events in Britain since it was founded by Queen Anne in 1711, and the weeklong affair is guaranteed to be attended by the majority of the British royal family. While Queen Elizabeth did not appear in 2022, several members of her family showed up throughout the week, including Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Princess Beatrice, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, and more.
There's a strict dress code at the Royal Ascot; men are "required to wear a full morning suit with waistcoat and either a black or grey top hat at all times," and women need to wear hats, and dresses that cover their shoulders. The royals, too, often have to wear name tags. (Read more.)