Tea at Trianon: Royal Ascot 2025

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, June 21, 2025

Royal Ascot 2025

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From Tatler:

The Duchess of Edinburgh has truly led the style stakes at Ascot this year. On 17 June, she arrived at the hallowed grounds in a delicate, petal-adorned lace gown from Marylebone-based label Suzannah London, which she teamed with a peach rose-adorned hat from Jane Taylor and a coordinating bag from the Archduchess of Austria’s eponymous accessories line, Sophie Habsburg. Sophie has turned to Suzannah London for classic, elegant outfits – think A-line dresses, clean lines and neat, belted jackets – on countless occasions, most notably Prince Philip’s funeral and King Charles’ Coronation. For a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, honouring the Emir of Qatar and his wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh worked with the atelier on a bespoke navy gown, which featured a wide boat neckline and sleek long sleeves. Suzannah Crabb, the brand's founder, described working with Sophie to The Telegraph as ‘an effortless and enjoyable collaborative process,’ making it no surprise that the Duchess often relies on her designs for Royal Ascot, one of the biggest fashion events in the English summer calendar. (Read more.)

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