A day in the life: Duchesse de Choiseul

"The Duchess has only two hours' time to herself, and these two hours are devoted to her toilet and her letters; the calculation is a simple one,- she gets up at eleven; breakfasts at noon, and this is followed by conversation, which lasts three or four hours; dinner comes at six, after which there is play and the reading of the memoirs of Mme. de Maintenon...the company remains together until two o'clock in the morning."

Taine, Hippolyte A. The Ancient Regime: The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 1. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Echo Library, 2006.

Versailles: a Bedroom of style

Photo tour!  The Queen's bedroom at Versailles saw its fair share of lady occupants.  The style of the furnishings rotated with the fashions, which were kept up for the ladies, naturally.  It is left as it was when Marie Antoinette occupied the room. (click on the images to view large)

The gray paintings on the ceiling are by Boucher.  The paintings are of Virtues, which of course represent those of queens. They are: Fidelity, Charity, Prudence and Generosity.  Surely all the ladies whom stayed in this room met the qualifications! I wonder which pretty virtue was each queen's favorite!

 Among the famous women to stay in this room were:

 Maria Therese of Spain (Archduchess of Austria & Queen of France)

Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (duchesse de Bourgogne & Dauphine of France)

Maria Leczinska (Queen of France)

Marie Antoinette (Dauphine & Queen of France)