Tea at Trianon: Princess Charlene at Home

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, February 1, 2025

Princess Charlene at Home

From Tatler:

But the transition to life in this glittering enclave was challenging, painful and solitary. 'The people I mixed with in Monaco didn't relate to my South African mentality or humour,' she says. Then there was the inevitable language barrier - Charlene could not speak French. (She has, however, made a valiant effort to learn the language and is gaining fluency.)
It was also difficult for a sporty, informal South African girl to form genuine friendships in a highly protected, frosty community that expected Albert to choose one of its own as his consort. 'Of course I've been subject to jealousy, but that comes with the territory,' she says. 'Although I have met some wonderful people since I've been living in Monaco, I regard them all as acquaintances. I only have two people I consider friends here. Above all, my true friends are my family. My mother and two brothers are the only friends I need and the only people I trust. I'm very grateful to have them.' (Read more.)