cahn | 18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 37

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More diaries of our favorite 18th-century Prussian diary-keeper have been unearthed and have been synopsized!

January 18th: Blessed be thou to me! Under your light, my Prince Heinrich was born!

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From:

selenak

The Duc de Saint-Simon is a member of the high nobility who was bff with Liselotte's son Philippe the Regent and wrote some very entertaining memoirs about Versailles during Louis' XIV later reign and during Philippe's regency. If he had a FB profile, it would list "bastards" and "nobles with less than 100% blue blood" among his intense dislikes, which is why he feuded with some of Louis' kids by Madame de Montespan. A main source for many an anecdote about Versailles, but for obvious reasons more reliable regarding the time he himself experienced than Louis' and Philippe the Gay's youth.

As to a first person testimony from Anne re: her second son, alas the only quotes I know are from arranging his marriage to Minette with her sister-in-law Henrietta Maria. There's no "I decidedt hat the way to prevent Philippe becoming like Gaston is to make him as effeminate as possible" quote that I know of - though with our luck, such a quote exists SOMEWHERE and is just waiting for me to deny it - but that's what she was thinking according to Saint-Simon, who never met her. (Liselotte and Philippe the Regent didn't meet her, either, since she was already dead when Philippe the Gay married a second time.)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

If he had a FB profile, it would list "bastards" and "nobles with less than 100% blue blood" among his intense dislikes

And more generally: "Not conforming to social rules." In addition to being a snob, he was a stickler for etiquette in a way that stuck out at Versailles. Versailles. !!

Among his intense likes would be listed: "Being consulted on the etiquette for any given social occasion." Because 1) he knew all the rules and enjoyed being the expert, 2) nothing more satisfying than seeing an event go the way it's supposed to!

though with our luck, such a quote exists SOMEWHERE and is just waiting for me to deny it

AHAHAHA. It's true, we've all been burned in salon. :D

From:

cahn

Ohhhh interesting, thanks!

though with our luck, such a quote exists SOMEWHERE and is just waiting for me to deny it

I mean. Part of me is like "yes, please, deny it!" because this seems to be a good way of getting more delicious gossip :D

But... from what I know about Philippe, really, this seems like the sort of thing where no matter what Anne did Philippe was going to turn out SRSLY GAY, so it seems like Occam's razor to postulate she didn't do much :P

From:

mildred_of_midgard

Part of me is like "yes, please, deny it!" because this seems to be a good way of getting more delicious gossip :D

Lol, I had the exact same thought! "Quick, someone deny it!"

But... from what I know about Philippe, really, this seems like the sort of thing where no matter what Anne did Philippe was going to turn out SRSLY GAY, so it seems like Occam's razor to postulate she didn't do much :

I was also thinking this, namely that no matter what Anne did, if Philippe hadn't already been inclined that way...I don't think he would have been so enthusiastic about swimming upstream against societal expectations.