44 - March 1919: Queen Marie of Romania visits Paris

Summary

We had an official reception for the Romanian court [Queen Marie, likely with her diplomatic aids] at one of our Institute meetings with President Alexandre Millerand. The sovereigns’ armchairs had been placed in front of the members. The chairman was Frédéric Laguillermie, who was not a man of the world, having never left his studio, and he wasn't used to speaking in such circumstances. He had made a three-point speech, written in very large letters, each paragraph having only four lines. He had studied them with great care, and even took foreign affairs into consideration. He read the first four lines more or less well, but then he realized that he was losing his thought at the beginning of the second paragraph. Suddenly, he tore off his eyeglass, threw his speech into the air and shouted: “Hey! What the devil! I’m not used to talking to kings!” The sovereigns were delighted, Millerand convulsed in laughter, and even Mme Millerand gave way to the joie de vivre of that incomparable moment.