The king and the queen of Spain

The first glance I took, when I made my first reverence to the king of Spain¹ upon arriving, astonished me so much that I had to use all my senses to pull myself together. I couldn’t see anything about him reminding one of the Duc d’Anjou, and I had to look hard into this long and much changed face, which was even more closed up than when he left France. He was bent forward, and much smaller, his chin thrown forward, far away from his chest, his feet stiff, touching each other, and stepping over each over as he walked, although walked quickly, and the knees more than one foot apart. What he told me was well said, but he said it so slowly, as though dragging each word out of his mouth, with such a stupid look on his face, that I felt astounded. A jerkin, without any gilt, made of some sort of brown homespun, because of the hunt where he was about to go, did not do anything for his appearance or his bearing. He wore a wig and his blue ribbon over his jerkin, always and on any occasion, so that the fleece² which he wore at his neck on a red ribbon could not be seen, almost always hidden by his necktie and his blue ribbon as it was. I will talk more at length about this monarch later.
The queen, whom I met fifteen minutes later, frightened me with her face covered with scars, disfigured to the utmost degree by smallpox; the spanish lady’s fashion of that time, entirely different from the former one and created by the princesse des Ursins³, was as favorable to young ladies with a nice body as it was unsuited to others, whose age and size made imperfections stand out. The queen had a very nice figure, thin as she was in those days; her skin was very white and so were her arms and hands; her lower body was slim and slender and she was a little taller than the average; she spoke very good French, with a slight Italian accent; accurate words came naturally, she had a very pleasant voice and pronunciation. She put a constant and natural charming grace in her speech and attitude and it varied as they varied. She showed kindness, even courtesy, with accuracy and moderation, and often enough a pleasant familiarity, as well as a grandeur and a majesty which never failed her. The result of all this was that when one had the honour to see her in some privacy, but always in the presence of king, as I’ll explain later, one felt comfortable with her, without forgetting what she was, and quickly got used to her face. It was so because even after having seen her only for a short while, it was easy to understand that she once was fair and beautiful, in spite of such a cruel smallpox.

1. Philip V (1700-1746), Grandson of Louis XIV, made king of Spain according to the will left by Charles II of Austria, started the Bourbon dynasty in Spain. He had married Marie de Savoie, mentioned here by Saint-Simon, and after her death, he married Elisabeth de Parme.
2. Chivalric order founded by Philip the Good, duc de Bourgogne (1429), whose sovereignty passed on to kings of Spain through Charles V.
3. Anne de la Trémouille, princesse des Ursins, from the court of Louis XIV, she went to Spain with Marie de Savoie, Wife of Philip V, where she gained an influence she lost at the death of the queen (1636-1722).

Extract from Memoirs of Saint-Simon, by Le Goffic & Tellier, 1888.