Tag Archives: french revolution
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The shocking accusations at Marie Antoinette’s Trial
The most striking thing about reading the record of Marie Antoinette’s trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal in October 1793 is realising what an astonishing mess the whole thing really was. In most other accounts, revolutionary justice always seems so swift, so merciless, so ruthlessly efficient. Many of those who stood trial before the Tribunal had [...]
Posted in 18th Century, Biography, French History, History, Royal History Also tagged Biography, marie antoinette, marie antoinette and her children, trial Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The mystery and the history of Louis Charles in the tower. Part 1
On the morning of 11th August 1792, an exhausted and increasingly sweaty royal family sat in the reporters’ box of the National Assembly, a stone’s throw from the Seine in Paris. The night before, the Tuileries (the 16th-century royal palace near the Louvre which had been their residence since they were removed from Versailles in [...]
Posted in 18th Century, Biography, French History, History, Royal History Also tagged French History, louis charles, marie antoinette, marie antoinette and her children Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The queen’s adopted family
From the day she arrived at Versailles at the age of only fourteen, one question loomed larger in the life of Marie Antoinette than any other. Versailles was so used to gossip that Whisper was practically its official language, but amidst the idle wagging of tongues and scurillous muck-raking, this question had extremely serious consequences [...]
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Marie Antoinette and her Children: A new, multi-part series on Culture&Stuff
In 1786, Marie Antoinette and her children posed for a portrait by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (click the image above for the full version). At first glance, the resulting picture presents a happy image. Madame Royale gazes lovingly up at her mother, the infant Duc de Normandie bounces on her lap, and the Dauphin looks every [...]
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A King of Beasts in Revolutionary Paris
I’ve just started reading the eclectic and lively Georgian London blog, and came across this piece about the menagerie at the Tower of London, which existed in various forms from 1252 until its closure in 1835, at which point its collection of animal inhabitants formed the basis for London Zoo.
The story of the menagerie (once [...]
Posted in 18th Century, Animals, British History, French History, History, London, Paris, Royal History Also tagged 18th century, History, London, Paris Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The mystery and the history of Louis Charles in the tower. Part 2