Tea at Trianon: Instead of Macron, Why Not Try a King?

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, October 15, 2025

Instead of Macron, Why Not Try a King?

From The European Conservative:

The message is clear, spiritually and historically enlightened. The observation is lucid: “The Fifth Republic is on the verge of collapse.” Louis acknowledges the failure, once again, of the republican system, which has been in a state of crisis ever since it replaced the monarchy in France. The conclusion is clear: “the republican institutions and the political class are not up to the challenges of the times.” Louis would certainly agree with De Gaulle, who is credited with this probably apocryphal statement: “We must admit that the Republic does not suit France if it feels the need to change it so often.”
The pretender is not the only one champing at the bit. On social media, for those who can read between the lines and between posts, recognised voices on the Right are rising up to remind us that when the republic goes off the rails, there is always a way out. This is the case with essayist Julien Rochedy, who raises the idea of a “royalist coup d’état,” or journalist Régis Le Sommier, who would gladly trade a “republican monarch” for a “real king.”

Louis explains that we are “at a crossroads” and “it is up to us to seize these opportunities so that France can rediscover the path to its glorious destiny and happy prosperity.” The monarchical heritage must be both “an inspiration” and “a hope.”

All this is well and good. But Tolkien fans and other admirers of the return of the king on a white horse will certainly have to wait a little longer. Louis’ statements are insightful, but vague. He reiterates the principles because that is what he is there for. But taking power does not seem to be part of his immediate agenda. He embodies legitimate royalty, which by definition cannot stoop to imposing itself through a coup d’état.

So allow us this very personal conclusion: a restoration, yes, three times yes, but we will certainly have to give Providence a little help, or return to those somewhat muscular ages when power was conquered at the point of the sword. Clovis would not disagree—and it was with him that France was baptised. (Read more.)