Marie-Antoinette and Anne Boleyn

I have been watching the Tudors with Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing Henri VIII. As I took a sort of interest in all the wives he had, I don't think I could think of Anne Boleyn without thinking of Marie-Antoinette.

(Left: Anne Boleyn by Holbein; right: Marie-Antoinette by d'Agoty)

So here are some comparisons I made between the French queen and the English one.

They were two women whose gracefulness and liveliness were acknowledged in their court. While Anne B. somewhat received an education in France (serving as a lady in waiting for the queen) that she brought back to England, Marie-Antoinette was "formed" to live in the French court. Both had then a very particular relationship with this country.

Marie-Antoinette was the new "thing" in the Versailles court, taking from her natal Austria, her freshness, her youth and her special beauty. To be honest, she matched the expectations of the French court as far as beauty standards were concerned. Blond, blue-eyed, lovely, very fair-skined, growing tall (though she was very petite at the beginning) etc.

On the contrary, Anne Boleyn was rather an exotique woman: she was dark-haired and brown-eyed and olive-skined when the Renaissance time actually favoured blond-haired women with very pale complexion. She was standing out in the English court. Plus her skills in French and dancing and fashion appealed to most men. They grew rapidly fond of her and this was how Henry VIII noticed her.
Both women animated their courts and while occupying the most powerful positions as women, they were much looked up at and admired. They were the centre of attention.

Their marriages revealed themselves unhappy at least, more for Anne Boleyn. She dealt with an unfaithful husband. H.VIII was capricious, hot-tempered, authoritarian. Their relationship became rather tumultuous after waiting several years before marrying and having sex together. AB knew how to keep her distance with the king in order to be elevated at a better position than a king's mistress. Poor Katherine of Aragon, dealing with a cheating husband and a rebellious lady-in-waiting. Sigh. When AB gave birth to a daughter instead of a son, the disappointment was huge but they expected for other children.

As for Marie-Antoinette, her marriage to Louis XVI gave her some mixed feelings at the beginning. First, his shyness and distance kind of hurt the princess but they grew to appreciate each other. They waited a long time before consumating their marriage and catching up for their fruitless honeymoon. Seven years passed before this happening and they needed eight years when a daughter was born, at last. This would, I think, help MA to consider her husband under a better light. Before he was able to make love with her, she called him the "poor man" in a letter which really stupefied and disgusted her mother. As she knew she gave birth to a daughter, on December 19th 1778, she could barely refrain her disappointment. But then, she and Louis XVI were much delighted to have a child at last, and to see they were fertile.

The two queens suffered gossips and rumours. People's tales really damaged their reputations. As for AB, she was unlucky to have married a versatile man who grew quickly tired of her. He couldn't stand her fits of anger and jealousy any longer and was starting to notice women much different from her. That was why sweet Jane Seymour caught his attention. Moreover, AB still didn't give him a male heir, which made them  both so exasperated and unhappy. It also made her position more fragile. Because she probably started to feel her situation was crumbling, AB miscarried several times (and there may be some problems from Henry too). More and more people wanted her to be off.

Marie-Antoinette's popularity declined because she neglected the court as she sought intimacy and tranquillity with just a small society of friends around her. Furthermore, some old aristocracy disliked how she waved them away, making probably some old ladies jealous of her beauty and youth. Versailles was more deserted than it had been under Louis XV. Louis XVI who was still popular at the end of his reign could have prevented such a fall out between his wife and the people. Indeed, he should have been firmier as far as some of her leisures were concerned. And maybe put a halt to some of her expenses. Slanders, lies and bad gossips really ended up as the evil towards MA. But unlike Anne, Marie-Antoinette enjoyed having a faithful husband.

Both women spent their last days in prison, MA in the conciergerie, AB in the London tower.

(Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn)

(Kirsten Dunst as Marie-Antoinette)

Marie-Antoinette was executed when she was 38 years old, at least, 15 years after her marriage.
Anne was beheaded just 3 years after her marriage and coronation. From some reports, she might have been under 30.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI-Related

Genealogy

Related.

When people say that all royals are blood related, well, I'm more than ready to agree. There were already a few gossips on the net on how Kate and William had some ancestors in common

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1299794/How-Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-related-thanks-Tudor-tyrant.html ).

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI were not exceptions to this fact as well:

their common ancestors lineage starts with Philippe, Duke of Orléans, brother of king Louis XIV (great-great-great grand-father of Louis XVI). Indeed, Monsieur (as Philippe was called ) is no less than Marie-Antoinette's father's grand-father. With his second wife, Princess Palatine, Philippe “created” a second branch in his family when he gave his daughter to marry a member of the Lorraine family.

Louis XIV's brother's blood then also ran into Louis XVI's veins. He was his great-great-great-grand-father by the marriage between Marie-Adélaide de Savoie (Philippe's grand-daughter) and Louis de France (Louis XIV's grand-son and heir). 

So according to some genealogy rules, Marie-Antoinette is Louis XV's cousin on the same degree (not same generation, obviously).

Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were second cousins twice removed, and Marie-Antoinette was Louis XIV's great-grand niece.

Nevertheless, despite frequent marriages between first cousins or with other familial links, at least in their direct genealogy, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were rather in good health, great shape and said to be both handsome people (an English woman once said she was disappointed by Louis-Auguste during his wedding day, because she thought he was going to be horrible. He wasn't.).

Unfortunately, Louis XIV's cousin Charles II of Spain didn't have the same luck; he was the heir of a lineage full of inbreedings (his mother and father being niece and uncle for example) which probably explains his very awful health. And he was also heavily prognathous. He married Philippe's first daughter Marie-Louise whom he fell deeply in love with. Unfortunately for the couple, they didn't succeed in having children, which caused great distress for both of them. 

(Pictures found on the Net).

By Nana 

If there are some mistakes I apologize and will try to correct them.

Superb Eva Green!

She's been one of my favourite actresses out there since Casino Royale where she played the popular Vesper Lynd, James Bond's first true love!
What I could say about her is that...she loves to play different roles, women etc. All of them have always a dark side, a twisted relationship with their partners, some secrets to protect etc. Eva Green really tries to choose three-dimensional characters with a lot depth in their psychology.

I only listed the films I've seen since-gloops!- I still have to watch The Dreamers etc..

Cracks, 2009. My favourite film among all of hers. She's terrific as Miss G, a school teacher obsessed with a foreign princess-like student (Fiamma, played by Maria Valverde).

 James Bond, as Vesper Lynd. Seriously, she was amazing in her elegant outfits, her haute-couture dresses and her haughtiness. First film I saw of her! I found out Vesper was the favourite James Bond Girl of many people.

 Dark Shadows, 2012. I saw the film this year, and I really appreciate it, mostly with the tale of how the curse started because of Angélique Bouchard's craziness over Johnny Depp's character. It has to be noticed that it's the first time we can see Eva as a blond woman (her real hair colour).

 Womb. Seriously, this film...scared me. It was well-done enough, and the story doesn't let the watcher indifferent. However, I had shivers run down my spine. I bet the film isn't to make you feel at ease. Once again, Eva Green plays an "outsider" (Rebecca), a woman completely different from the others and who's forever haunted by her first love.

 Kingdom of Heaven. She played Sybil, the hero's love interest played by Orlando Bloom. The chemistry between the two actors does transmit on screen, and Eva had the most gorgeous blue eyes!

 

The Golden Compass  where she played a witch. I don't really remember her performance since I haven't seen the film for a very long time. Though, the role suits her fine, since she has that kind of mysterious charm that film directors seem to love about her.

You probably wonder why I'm speaking of Eva Green in a blog dedicated to Marie-Antoinette and other historical characters mainly. Well, the answer is simple: Benoît Jacquot, film director of Farewell, My Queen (original title: Les Adieux à La Reine from Chantal Thomas' novel), 2012, first wanted Eva Green to play Marie Antoinette!! How great it would have been.

Unfortunately, it turned out differently. In an interview in French, he explains: "I had first thought about Eva Green, an actress I like very much, to play the Queen linked in an organic way to the image of the "Foreigner", the "Austrian", but Eva had to go shoot a film by Tim Burton."

In the end, German-born Diane Kruger was chosen to play the unhappy queen.

A slight resemblance with Versailles no Bara (Lady Oscar)'s Marie-Antoinette, no? ;)









Honestly, I wonder how the film would have looked like with Eva Green playing the Queen. I haven't seen Diane Kruger's performance yet so I can't really judge her work (I appreciated her in Inglorious Basterds). But with Eva's acting skills, the fact she's a natural blond (a dark blond) so she could pull of the blond locks, and that she already played a mother (though...a very scary one) and her obvious interest in playing characters with deep psychology, I'm sure her performance would have been a success, too.

Nevertheless I think she could play Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary as well. At least, to me, they're very, very much look alike. People, give her a new dark, twisted Sissi-scenario as soon as possible!

Marie Antoinette's Birth

Marie Antoinette of Habsbourg-Lorraine was born on 2^nd, November 1755 to Austrian Empress Maria-Theresa and her husband, Consort Emperor Francis I of Lorraine. She's the little sister of many big brothers and sisters (more than 10) already: indeed, the marriage between her parents was a marriage of love, and Empress Maria-Theresa saw her generous offspring as incredible political tools. Why so? Because it is a way to furnish many potential wives to other European crowns and assure her power and strength outside her own empire. That way, her children assured the extension of her influence.

 (Marie Antoinette is the smallest one, in the craddle)

However, this “hunger” for control and power will lead the poor Marie Antoinette-future French queen- to an inexorable tragic destiny.

Since her birth, the little archduchess with big blue eyes (“à fleur de tête”) had seemed to be overshadowed by pessimistic signs.

2^nd, November: two days after All Souls' Day.

The day before her birth: a terrible earthquake ravaged Lisbon, capitol of Portugal, and its queen and king became Marie Antoinette's godmother and godfather.

What's more, her education was highly neglected, throughout her childhood and even a few years before her marriage to Dauphin Louis-Auguste! At 12 years-old, MA could barely read and write!

This neglect can be seen, today, as one of Marie Antoinette's downfall causes (I'll be back about it later). She never learnt to concentrate, neither making an effort.

Her mother grew superstitious some time before her last daughter go to France. Some medium/fortune-teller or religious man (can't really remember) said: “there's a cross for everybody” when the Empress asked him about her daughter's future in France.

(Marie Antoinette as a baby. Her features are already quite noticeable: big blue eyes, strong nose)

Nevertheless, when the healthy baby girl was born, all those dark thoughts were not hovering over the family yet. Indeed, the people respected Marie-Theresa, her relationship was to her husband excellent (even though he often cheated on her) and her numerous children assured her power.

Similarly to her most of her siblings, Marie-Antoinette would serve a political goal, in order to maintain her mother's (and Austria's) influence.