Category: French Revolution

Posted on

Marie Antoinette’s Lover?

Was he or wasn’t he? Only Axel von Fersen and Marie Antoinette know the truth. However, historians accept the fact that Count von Fersen was madly in love with Marie Antoinette (1755–1793). He was at the center of several key events during the French Revolution involving the king and queen. Eventually, like Marie Antoinette, von Fersen met a violent death.

The Swedish Noble

Axel Fersen. Oil Painting by Carl Frederik von Breda (18th century). Löfstad Castle, Sweden. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.
Axel Fersen. Oil Painting by Carl Frederik von Breda (18th century). Löfstad Castle, Sweden. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.

Hans Axel, Count von Fersen (1755–1810), was a Swedish noble, diplomat, and soldier. As a young officer in the French army, von Fersen met the French Dauphine in 1771—they were both sixteen at the time. She soon invited him to Versailles and von Fersen quickly became one of Marie Antoinette’s favored guests. By 1781, von Fersen was serving with other French officers in the American War of Independence. Marie Antoinette became queen during his years away from France and the two of them frequently exchanged letters.

 

Read More Marie Antoinette’s Lover?

Posted on

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

A scene from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
A scene from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

I had a hard time deciding on a title for this blog. It could have been several titles and I still would have gotten your attention.

I love Madonna. I love Marilyn Monroe. They were the “IT” girls for their respective generation. In 1953, Marilyn starred in a movie called, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She sang the song, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Thirty-one years later, Madonna produced and starred in the video entitled, “Material Girl.” Both dance scenes are eerily alike—check them out below. However, approximately 173 years earlier, the French “IT” girl was Marie Antoinette.

The “Other” Woman.

King Louis XV ordered a diamond necklace to be made for his “favorite”—Madame du Barry. It was quite expensive and took many years to find the right diamonds. During this time, Louis died and Madame du Barry was banished from the court (as was the custom with the king’s mistresses).

The Parisian jewelers funded the creation of the necklace out of pocket and so they were anxious to sell the necklace to Louis’s successor, King Louis XVI. There was only one problem. Marie Antoinette hated Madame du Barry and when Louis XVI presented the necklace to his wife, she turned him down. Now, the jewelers were in a fix. Without the sale of the necklace, they would go out of business. Read More Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend