Tea at Trianon: A Stunning New Marie Antoinette Afternoon Tea

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, August 2, 2025

A Stunning New Marie Antoinette Afternoon Tea

someone sat dressed in a marie-antoinette-esque dress behind an afternoon tea spread of delectable and adorable looking sweet and savoury delights on a three tier tray, surrounded by scones, glasses of champagne, and mugs of tea

Of course, all informed persons are aware that the Queen never said: "Let them eat cake." From Secret London:

In the middle of London, just around the corner from the fabled V&A, a delicious new afternoon tea will soon be arriving, inspired by an infamous historical figure. The Kensington’s new ‘Let Us Eat Cake’ afternoon tea (so-called because we’ll be doing the scone-and-cake-scoffing, not someone else) is inspired by the V&A’s new Marie Antoinette: Style exhibition. The Marie Antoinette afternoon tea draws from her “fashion, gardens and lavish court life,” with food that is “as ornamental as it is delicious.”

Set to launch on September 20, 2025 – the same day that the exhibition opens – the special afternoon tea experience will transport diners afternoon tea-ers to the Palace of Versailles. The (fan-shaped) menu features a variety of sweet and savoury delights. And yes, despite the name, there is more than just cake on offer. (Read more.)