Tea at Trianon: Holkham Hall by Candlelight

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

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Holkham Hall by Candlelight

From Tatler:

For Lady Leicester, it’s a passion project that, over the past decade and a half, has gone from a one-room makeover to a ten-room takeover gathering around 20,000 intrigued guests from across the country to embrace the wonder and whimsy of Christmas. ‘We never have an overall theme, we find that’s almost too rigid. We like to have different stories in each room,’ she explains. Naturally, it’s one that comes with a whole lot of planning. In fact, ideas for the following years’ designs often start as early as when decking out the the current year.
In recent years, such themes have come to life in the form of ‘The Dog Room’ (‘there was a Batoni portrait out on loan, so we did the same portrait but with one of my dog’s faces,’ says Lady Leicester. ‘It became a Pompeo Bark-oni, and we had artwork with all the dogs in it as if they were having their grand portraits done – and a gingerbread kennel. It was one of our crazier ideas’). As well as ‘The Paper Room’ (‘we worked with a local couture dress designer who made an amazing wedding dress all out of paper. I’ll never forget all the different pieces and pinning it all together. We also had huge paper Christmas trees,’ she beams).
This year, the wedding bells do chime again. As both Lady Leicester and Lady Glenconner are displaying their very own gowns as part of the exhibition. ‘How did we get into our wedding dresses?’ Lady Glenconner ponders. ‘I can’t get into it anymore. My arm is bigger than the waist!’ she laughs. It was Norman Hartnell who created Lady Glenconner’s lace-sleeved dress for the occasion – the same designer who made the late Queen Elizbaeth II’s, where Glenconner was maid of honour. ‘I was married here [at Holkham]. It’s an amazing house to celebrate in,’ she says. (Read more.)