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Character Sketch
Nov. 6th, 2013 11:37 pmIn 1871 a noted French writer lamented on the nature of Alexandra. “We face a truly formidable monarch in her. She is brilliant and devious in her affairs and in the management of her Empire. That I knew by simply observing her political progress. But it was not until I saw her in the Royal Box in the [name required] Opera House in New York that I realized how dangerous she really is.
There is an obsequious habit of labeling Nobel Ladies of even a modest attractiveness as 'beautiful'. The Queen of The British is in fact a Great Beauty and would be so if she were a plowman's daughter. And even across the width of the [name required] Opera House one can see clearly the intelligence and liveliness that sparkles her bright blue eyes. As a man, I felt desire. As a Frenchman, I felt dread.”
The piece caused both scandal in The Foreign Office and the press...and amusement in the Queen, something she made widely known by having a pastoral painting of herself done as a barefoot English 'country maid' bringing lunch to an older man plowing a field. It was called “The Plowman's Daughter.” It became a very popular reproduction and a number of pubs called themselves “The Plowman's Daughter,” depicting said image on their shingles. It was a classic English 'two fingers' and it endeared her to her people even more.
The French writer laughed at this as well, though he said, “She proves my point. The British Queen took what was little more than a throw-away turn of phrase and turned it into a potent emotional weapon.”
There is an obsequious habit of labeling Nobel Ladies of even a modest attractiveness as 'beautiful'. The Queen of The British is in fact a Great Beauty and would be so if she were a plowman's daughter. And even across the width of the [name required] Opera House one can see clearly the intelligence and liveliness that sparkles her bright blue eyes. As a man, I felt desire. As a Frenchman, I felt dread.”
The piece caused both scandal in The Foreign Office and the press...and amusement in the Queen, something she made widely known by having a pastoral painting of herself done as a barefoot English 'country maid' bringing lunch to an older man plowing a field. It was called “The Plowman's Daughter.” It became a very popular reproduction and a number of pubs called themselves “The Plowman's Daughter,” depicting said image on their shingles. It was a classic English 'two fingers' and it endeared her to her people even more.
The French writer laughed at this as well, though he said, “She proves my point. The British Queen took what was little more than a throw-away turn of phrase and turned it into a potent emotional weapon.”
