When Marie-Antoinette arrived in France she was initially adored for her youth, her beauty, her vitality, her generous nature. The old king Louis XV was especially enamoured with his grandson’s new bride. But the palace of Versailles, steeped in courtly rituals and traditions, was not for the faint-hearted. Would she be strong enough to survive life at the palace?
On 2 November 1755, a tiny but healthy baby girl entered the world. Not an ordinary world, hers was the sprawling royal Hofburg complex in Vienna where kings and queens had been born since the 13th century. Nor was she an ordinary baby girl; she was Marie-Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, who would be crowned Queen of France whilst still a teenager. She was born into privilege and wealth but would end her days in a dank prison on the Seine river; her life would be horrendously cut short by a revolutionary government thirsting for revenge. Here is the first of a series of articles on the life of Marie-Antoinette – daughter, wife, queen, mother, a fashion icon and a hated symbol of a repressive regime.
For as long as there have been queens in France, there has never been a female monarch. No daughters of the King, the princesses of royal blood, have succeeded to the French crown and ruled in their own right. Why?
Decadent, luscious, velvety smooth, creamy and wonderfully delicious. How many French desserts have you savoured in achingly slow bites, to draw out every explosion of delight in your mouth.
Take my quiz and show everyone just how much you know about French desserts.
Take yourself back to the markets of Les Halles, Paris, exactly 231 years ago, and join the women who will march on Versailles. These women were wives and mothers and tired of endlessly waiting in line for bread for their families. They took whatever weapon they could get their hands on, found a spare cannon […]
The evil and wicked Catherine de Medici was a Queen consort, a Queen regent, and the mother to three French kings. Her reputation through the ages is one of a diabolical woman who strove for power, sacrificing her children, her country and her principles. History tells us she
Was Catherine de Medici really an evil queen? Continue reading
A truly French macaron is elegant, stylish, colourful and filled with deliciousness. But where did it come from, and why is the macaron so popular?
The Tour de France is so popular that it’s estimated one third of the population of the country line the streets and mountains of France to watch their sweaty heroes glide by. But it’s not been smooth riding all the way; there have been crimes, scandals and outrageous behaviour in the long history of the […]
Scandals and upsets in the history of the Tour de France Continue reading
The 14th of July is Bastille Day in France, and it is the best holiday of the year. For me it means a long weekend camping with the kids, fireworks at 11pm when the sun finally goes down, and walks along the coast. But it’s not called Bastille Day if you’re in France. It is […]
Recently my toddler was out in the garden, and as all curious toddlers must, he picked up a passing snail and put it into his mouth. “No!” I cried, pulling something slimy and half munched from his mouth. “We don’t eat snails!” Well actually, if you live in France, you do.
A short but slimy history of eating snails in France Continue reading
I met my lovely French husband whilst on a backpacking holiday. It was a coup de foudre, a bolt of lightning; we fell in love in 3 days. When I returned home after my trip, this is how I broke the news to my friends: “I’ve met someone”. “Ooh”. “He’s French”. “Ooh la la!” French […]
Surely there is nothing more French than a warm, buttery, flaky croissant fresh from the boulangerie, perhaps while savouring a café au lait with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Should you ever find yourself in mid-19th century Paris and craving such luxuries (without the view of the Eiffel Tower, of course), there is only […]
A short but buttery history of the croissant Continue reading
