Marie-Antoinette Takes Possession of the Petit Trianon on 6 June, 1774

It was on this day 245 years ago that Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France for hardly a month, took possession of the Petit Trianon. It was a gift from her husband, the freshly proclaimed Louis XVI. She celebrated the event with a housewarming party, the guest list of which included the King, his brothers, the Counts of Provence and Artois, their wives, and his sister Madame Clothilde, soon to become Queen of Sardinia.

The acquisition of the Petit Trianon fulfilled the young queen’s wish to have a private country residence of her own. None of her predecessors had ever had such a thing except in widowhood. To mark the occasion, the King presented her with a symbolic key set with 531 diamonds. To complete her satisfaction, the king also gave her the authority to issue orders in her own name within the domain.

The little palace had been commissioned by Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour in 1763. The marquise didn’t live to see it finished, but Louis XV spent increasing amounts of time there in the final years of his reign, sometimes with Madame du Barry. In fact, it was while staying at the Petit Trianon in April of 1774 that he came down with the small pox that would kill him on 10 May.

Part 4.6 is the final part of Chapter 4.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 4.6, the fraught relations between the confined sovereigns in Paris and the émigrés in Coblentz, who were lead by the King’s brothers, are laid bare.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 4, Part 6 (4.6)

I have said the King was strongly opposed to the initiatives that the Comte d’Artois was taking in his name.  This opposition did not diminish after Monsieur joined his brother, and the prisoners of the Tuileries were in a state of complete hostility to the leaders at Coblentz.  

The Queen, with the King’s approval, kept up a correspondence of which the Baron de Breteuil, then at Brussels, was the principal agent, and of which the primary goal was to prevent foreign governments from a lending a hand to the princes’ intrigues.  It was for that reason hidden from Madame Élisabeth, who leaned towards her brothers’ opinions.  The upshot was that, even within that sad palace, confidentiality was not complete.  

Part 4.5 is the penultimate part of Chapter 4, and the second of two parts about the royal family’s disastrous, failed flight to Varennes in the summer of 1791.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 4.5, the author sets down what she remembers of the Marie Antoinette’s account of the flight to Varennes, as told by the Queen to her father.  

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 4, Part 5 (4.5)

There are many accounts of these events, but the authenticity of this one, from the Queen’s own lips, has decided me to set down the details that have remained in my memory of those that I heard my father recount. 

The traveling carriage had been ordered by Mme Sullivan (since then Mme Crawford), who had been so employed by M de Fersen on behalf of one of his friends, the Baronne de Korff.  It was for this same baroness, her family, and her suite that a passport in perfectly good order and a permit for post horses had been obtained. The carriage had for several days been on Mme Sullivan’s premises.  She had taken it upon herself to put in it the necessary items for the royal family’s use.  

One would have wished for the inhabitants of the Tuileries to disperse, but they did not want to be separated from one another.  The danger was great, and they wanted, they said, to escape or perish together.  Monsieur and Madame, who each consented to leave on their own, got away without obstruction.  In truth, they only needed to reach the nearest frontier, while the King, not being able to leave France, had but one route to follow.  Many precautions were taken, but one was lacking.  

The Baronne de Korff’s berline was to have been occupied by the King, the Queen, Madame Élisabeth, the two children and the Baron de Viomesnil.  Two bodyguards in livery were on the box.  Mme de Tourzel was only informed of the departure at the last minute.  She asserted the rights of her office (les droits de sa charge), which authorized her never to leave the Dauphin.  The argument was overriding for those to whom it was addressed, and she replaced M de Viomesnil in the carriage.  From then on, the royal family had no one able to act for them in case of an unexpected circumstance.  No ordinary bodyguards, as devoted as they might be, would assume that responsibility.  This decision was seen for what it was too late for it to be remedied.  

Part 4.2 is the second part of Chapter 4.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 4.2, the author remembers her last meeting with Marie-Antoinette, whose Calvary had begun, in the summer of 1790.  

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 4, Part 2 (4.2)

After having been entrusted with a commission related to the Dutch refugees in 1788, my father was named minister to the Hague, and he was in that post at the time of our sojourn in England.  A quarrel between the Prince of Orange and the French ambassador made the Court of Versailles decide that it would no longer send a minister to Holland.  The Republic did not wish to receive anything but an ambassador.  This vexation prevented my father from taking up his post; all the more patience was required since he hoped to arrive thereby at the rank of ambassador, which could not be had at the start.  

The town of Versailles had reflected on the damage the Court’s absence was causing it.  The agitation had calmed, and it regretted the sad days of October.  On my mother’s return she could not have been better received by the very people who had railed against her the most at her departure; nonetheless, we did not stay there long.  We started by spending the summer at Bellevue, and the following winter we lived in an apartment in the Pavillon de Marsan at the Tuileries.  

Part 3.1 is the beginning of Chapter 3.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 3.1, the author relates how, as the only non-royal child at Court, she was spoiled by members of the royal family, including the King and Queen.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 3, Part 1 (3.1)

I was literally raised on the knees of the royal family.  The King and Queen above all heaped kindness on me.  At a time when, as I have already said, children were put out to nurse, then to be weaned, and then sent to a convent, and when, dressed as little ladies and little gentlemen, they only appeared, sulky and grumpy, to be put on display, I, with my cambric frock and a profusion of blonde hair that adorned a pretty little figure, was extremely striking. My father amused himself developing my intelligence, and I was quite sincerely found to be a little prodigy.  I had learned to read with such great facility that at three years old I read and declaimed Racine’s tragedies for my own pleasure and even, it was said, for that of others.   

It pleased my father to take me to the theatre at Versailles.  I was taken away after the first play so as not to keep me up, and I remember that sometimes the King would call me into his box to have me recount the play I had just seen.  I added my own reflections, which were usually a great success.  To tell the truth, one day I said to him in the midst of my literary remarks that I felt a great desire to ask a favour of him; encouraged by his indulgence, I confessed that, since my ears were going to be pierced the next day, I coveted two of the smallest pendants of the chandeliers in order to have some earrings made.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 2.5, the author tells how the royal family spent their evenings at Versailles, describing the ceremony of the coucher, or the royal going-to-bed, as practised under Louis XVI.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter Two, Part 5 (2.5)

At nine o’clock the whole royal family gathered for supper in the apartments of Madame, the wife of Monsieur.  They were exclusively amongst themselves there, and were only very rarely absent.  There were positive reasons apart from displeasing the King.  Even the Comte d’Artois, who was very bored by these occasions, was hardly ever absent from them.  Court gossip was recounted and family matters were discussed.  They were very much at ease and often very merry, for it must be said that once they were separated from the entourages that importuned them, these princes were the best people in the world.  After supper, they all went their own ways.

The King went to his coucher.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 2.4, the author describes the court within the court of Louis XVI’s aunts, whose leader was Madame Adélaïde, the eldest surviving daughter of Louis XV.  

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 2, Part 4 (2.4)

The little court of Mesdames the King’s aunts was a court within the court, referred to as the Old Court.  Its habits were very regular.  The princesses spent the whole summer at Bellevue, where their nephews and nieces constantly came for impromptu family dinners. A courier would arrive a few minutes ahead to announce them. When the courier was Monsieur’s, later Louis XVIII, the kitchen would be warned, and the dinner would be more ample and carefully presented. For the others, no warning was given, not even for the King, who had a large appetite, but was not nearly as much a gourmand as his brother.

At Bellevue, the royal family dined with everyone who happened to be there.  With the people attached to Mesdames, their families, and a few regular guests, the number generally came to twenty or thirty persons.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts.  In Part 2.3, the author recalls the Princesse de Guéméné, the rather eccentric governess of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s children.  At any rate, she was their governess until a sudden reversal of fortune…

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter Two, Part 3 (Part 2.3)

At Versailles, the Princesse de Guéméné’s house was the one most frequented by my parents.  My father had some family connection to her, and she overwhelmed them with kindness.  She was a very singular person.  She had a great deal of intellect, but she put it to use by plunging into the follies of spiritualism.  She was always surrounded by a multitude of dogs to whom she rendered a kind of worship, and let on that through them she was in communication with intermediary spirits.  In the middle of a conversation in which she showed wit and judgement, she would suddenly stop short and fall into a trance.  She sometimes told her intimates what she had learned on these occasions and was offended to notice any signs of incredulity.

One day my mother found her in her bath, wreathed in tears.

“You are ill, princess!”

“No, child, I am sad and horribly tired; I spent the whole night fighting for this unfortunate child (motioning towards the Dauphin), but I could not beat them.  They won and there will be nothing left for him, alas!  And what a fate the others shall have!”

My mother, accustomed to the princess’s aberrations, paid little attention to these words; she remembered them afterwards and told them to me.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her nephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts.  In Part 1.6, Mme de Boigne describes the influence of Mme de Polignac and her coterie on the Queen, and also gives us brief pen portraits of her royal siblings-in-law.    

Chapter One, Part 6 (1.6)

Mme de Polignac was much more fatal to her.  This was not because she was a bad person, but she was indolent and little wit; she intrigued out of weakness.  She was dominated by her sister-in-law, the Comtesse Diane, who was ambitious, as disorderly in her morals as she was greedy, and who wanted to win all possible favour for herself and her family.  She was tyrannized by her lover the Comte de Vaudreuil, a man as frivolous as he was immoral, and who, using the Queen as a tool, pillaged the public treasury for himself and his companions in dissoluteness.

He made scenes to Mme de Polignac whenever the satisfaction of his demands suffered some slight delay.  The Queen would find her favourite in tears and immediately busy herself to have his demands met.  As for her own fortune, Mme de Polignac, without asking too much, limited herself to accepting nonchalantly whatever favours the intrigues of the Comtesse Diane produced, and the poor Queen vaunted her disinterestedness.  She believed in it, and loved her sincerely.  On her side, her confidence was without limit for some years.

M de Calonne’s appointment restricted it somewhat.  He was one of Mme de Polignac’s intimates, and the Queen did not want a member of the King’s council to be caught up in that cabal.  She said so out loud, but the Polignac coterie, preferring first and foremost a comptroller-general of like mind, highlighted the benefits that would accrue to the Comte d’Artois himself.  It was indeed through him that M de Calonne was appointed, despite the Queen’s repugnance.  She nursed some discontent from this, which cooled her towards Mme de Polignac, and all of M de Calonne’s eagerness to please her failed to restore him to her good graces.  Nonetheless, he replied to her one day when she made a request of him: “If what the Queen desires is possible, it is already done; if it is not possible, it will be done somehow.”  Despite such politic words, the Queen never pardoned him.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her nephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts.  In Part 1.5, Mme de Boigne describes the behaviour that set malicious tongues wagging about Marie-Antoinette.    

“This excellent prince (Louis XVI) had a great deal of difficulty in overcoming a timidity of spirit, joined to boorishly free manners, the fruit of his childhood habits, which did him no favours with those who only saw this uncouth shell.  With the best intentions of being obliging to someone, the King would advance towards him until his back was against the wall.  If he could not think of anything to say, which happened often, he would give a great bark of laughter, turn on his heels and walk away.  The victim of this public scene always suffered from it, and if he was not a regular at Court, he would go away furious, persuaded that the King had wanted to do him some kind of insult.  In private, the King complained bitterly of the way he had been raised.  He used to say that the only man for whom he felt hatred was the Duc de La Vauguyon⁷, and in support of this sentiment he cited instances of the abject toadying addressed by the Duc to his brothers and himself.  Monsieur had less repugnance for the memory of the Duc de La Vauguyon.

M le Comte d’Artois shared the King’s opinion.  His happy disposition, his charm, perhaps even his frivolity, made him the spoiled favourite of the whole family.  Though he committed stupidity after stupidity, the King scolded him, pardoned him, and paid his debts.  Alas, the one that could never be made good was the discredit heaped on his own head and on the Queen’s!