Romantic Paris Proposal
AT THE GRAND ROYAL BALL

 

Between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., a magnificent 1935 Bentley MK6 Milord with chauffeur will arrive to collect you from your home. All you need to do is tell your beloved that a surprise outing awaits her.

 

Once you are aboard, you will drive through Paris before setting off towards a historic château located around forty kilometres from the capital.

 

 

Arrival at the Château

 

As you approach the estate, you will discover a majestic tree-lined avenue, with the vast park and château rising majestically before you. The car will drive around the château to the rear of the estate, where everything will seem frozen in time, far removed from any trace of the modern world.

 

Your chauffeur will escort you to a discreet entrance. The doors will open to reveal a First Valet de Chambre in full Court attire, who will bow deeply before you:

 

“Welcome, Sire. Your apartments have been prepared according to the customs of the Court. If you would be so kind as to follow me...”

 

Pretending to be surprised, you will ask him:

 

“Forgive me... but what year is it?”

 

The First Valet, with the utmost seriousness, will reply:

 

“But, Sire... it is the year of Our Lord 1686. What a most peculiar question. Could you have travelled for so long that even the calendar itself has become unfamiliar to you?”

 

Your beloved will be utterly bewildered by the strange scene and will wonder what could possibly await her.

 

 

Your Transformation into King and Queen

 

The First Valet will invite you into the salon, where the First Lady-in-Waiting will be waiting to greet you with an elegant curtsy.

 

“Here are your apartments, Sire. Everything has been prepared according to the customs of the Court.”

 

He will then turn to the First Lady-in-Waiting:

 

“Madam, I entrust Her Majesty the Queen to your care.”

 

The First Lady-in-Waiting will curtsy gracefully before attending to your beloved:

 

“A queen must never appear before the Court unless every detail is worthy of her rank.”

 

In the same salon, you will each be prepared to step into your new roles. You will don an outfit identical to the one worn by Louis XIV, while your beloved will have her hair styled and be dressed in the manner of the wife of the Sun King.

 

A few moments later, you will find yourselves standing before a large mirror.

 

And there, you will gaze in astonishment at your new appearance: you will have become King and Queen.

 

 

The Royal Court

 

A new door will open before you.

 

You will find yourselves back in the park you glimpsed upon your arrival... but the scene that now unfolds before you will be completely different.

 

As if by magic, a genuine royal Court will have taken over the estate: guards in uniform, musicians playing a Baroque piece and courtiers dressed in period costumes will create a scene worthy of the seventeenth century before your very eyes. At that moment, you will truly feel as though you have stepped through the gates of time.

 

At first, the Court will seem to be going about its usual business, amid the murmur of conversations and discreet greetings. Then, little by little, the conversations will fall silent. Every gaze will turn towards you.

 

The Herald of Arms will step forward alone and strike the floor with his staff.

 

“Hear ye! Hear ye!”

 

Silence.

 

“Let all present give ear!”

 

Another silence.

 

“On this day, the Court has assembled to welcome Their Majesties... the King and Queen!”

 

The entire Court will bow in greeting. The guards will present arms, and the musicians will resume playing.

 

The Grand Chamberlain will then step forward:

 

“Sire... Your Majesty... the Court rejoices at your arrival. May these halls tonight provide the setting for a moment worthy of Their Majesties.”

 

Then, with solemnity:

 

“If Their Majesties would be so kind as to honour me by following me, the royal dinner is served.”

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The Royal Dinner

 

You will step through the doors of a magnificent salon, where every detail will evoke the splendour of a true palace. At the centre of the room, an elegant round table will await you, beautifully laid for dinner. You will take your seats alongside the Grand Chamberlain, a Duchess, the First Lady-in-Waiting and the First Valet de Chambre, while the musicians provide a musical accompaniment befitting the grandeur of the Grand Siècle.

 

Served in several courses, the dinner will take you on a culinary journey inspired by the lavish tables of the Grand Siècle.

 

To begin, you will savour delicate poultry pâtés in flaky pastry, cheese gougères and fine breads.

 

This will be followed by a truffle-stuffed poularde, served with a morel mushroom or white wine sauce and seasonal vegetables.

 

The meal will continue with crayfish accompanied by glazed vegetables.

 

To finish, a pyramid of fresh fruit, macarons, small almond cakes, Savoie biscuits and candied fruit will form an elegant dessert worthy of a royal table.

 

In this timeless setting, the Grand Chamberlain will keep the conversation flowing and, with the utmost seriousness, introduce you to the customs and curiosities of this fascinating era.

 

But as dinner progresses, you will discover that the Grand Chamberlain is quite different from the character you might have imagined. While maintaining his impeccable bearing and formal Courtly manner of speech, he will allow himself a few unexpected remarks, witty asides and surprising digressions that will gradually bring a smile to your beloved's face. Woven naturally into the conversation throughout the meal, his interventions will lighten the atmosphere and create a genuine sense of complicity between you.

 

He will begin by complimenting your beloved with all the gallantry befitting a royal court:

 

“Your Majesty, I can assure you: the Court has not had the privilege of admiring such elegance for many a year. The ladies will surely envy you tomorrow.”

 

As the conversation unfolds, he will then speak, with the utmost seriousness, of some of the extraordinary discoveries he has made thanks to you. In particular, he will attempt to make sense of the mysterious invention known as “5G”:

 

“Your Majesty, your august husband was telling me earlier about a mysterious invention called ‘5G’. Apparently, it is an invisible force capable of passing through walls at prodigious speed. I immediately sent my men to inspect the tapestries and wood panelling... but there was no messenger hiding among them.”

 

A little later, another curiosity from your era will come to mind:

 

“Your Majesty, the King was telling me earlier that our journey would have been considerably faster aboard a... ‘helicopter’. I confess that this word leaves me rather perplexed: is it some extraordinary bird that the scholars have somehow neglected to introduce us to, or perhaps some prodigious flying machine? In any case, I shall remain faithful to my horses, which at least have the advantage of never running short of hay.”

 

Later still, just as the conversation seems to have returned to its usual solemn tone, he will suddenly adopt a grave expression:

 

“Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that we have a minor incident to report.”

 

Silence.

 

“The King’s jester was supposed to be here this evening... but he has sent us a message.”

 

He will then unfold a parchment.

 

“He is detained on a matter of the utmost importance.”

 

A pause.

 

“He’s gone to karaoke with his sister.”

 

These interventions will punctuate the dinner without ever disrupting its flow. The Grand Chamberlain will remain your guide through this royal world while gradually becoming, as the evening unfolds, one of its most endearing and memorable characters.

 

 

The Private Salon

 

At the end of dinner, you will be invited to retire to an adjoining salon, where a few members of the Court will accompany you for a more intimate interlude.

 

There, you will enjoy a drink in a more intimate and relaxed atmosphere, while two musicians — a lutenist and a flautist — perform a few delicate pieces.

 

Meanwhile, the main salon will be discreetly cleared of the table and prepared for the rest of the evening.

 

 

The Grand Royal Ball

 

After this moment of relaxation, you will be invited to return to the main salon, which will have been completely transformed. The table will have disappeared, and the room will now be ready for the grand royal ball.

 

The first violinist, lutenist, flautist and cellist will take their places to perform Baroque melodies and dances. The first notes will ring out, the courtiers will begin to dance, and you will naturally be invited to join them.

 

You will then dance with your beloved, as well as with members of the Court, who will gradually draw you into the heart of the ball.

 

After several dances, as the ball reaches its height, the Grand Chamberlain will discreetly approach the Master of Music:

 

“Sire... the Queen seems to be enjoying the entertainments of our century. But perhaps the time has come to show her that the Court also knows how to have fun?”

 

The Master of Music will give a signal.

 

Then, suddenly, the musicians will strike up Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees.

 

The Court will initially be taken aback by this sudden change of rhythm. Elegant Court dances will suddenly give way to much more modern moves, with which the courtiers will clearly be unfamiliar. Yet within moments, they will get into the spirit of it, allowing themselves to be swept along by the rhythm with infectious enthusiasm.

 

Then, as the final notes fade away, the atmosphere will change completely.

 

 

The Marriage Proposal

 

The first violinist will suddenly strike up the opening notes of Armide: Passacaille by Jean-Baptiste Lully.

 

The music will regain all its grandeur. The courtiers will resume their places around you, and the atmosphere will become solemn.

 

You will then walk towards your beloved, get down on one knee and make your marriage proposal.

 

Around you, the entire Court will bow reverently, paying homage to the King and Queen. Carried by Lully’s music, surrounded by the entire Court and overwhelmed with emotion, your beloved will experience one of the most moving moments of her life.

 

You will not merely have made your beloved a princess: you will have made her a Queen!

 

 

The Fireworks

 

After this extraordinary moment, the Grand Chamberlain will invite you to leave the main salon and return to the park.

 

There, you will discover the estate illuminated against the night sky, champagne glasses in hand.

 

The entire Court will accompany you for this final moment of celebration.

 

A spectacular fireworks display will light up the sky to celebrate this historic moment. Explosions will follow one another in a dazzling cascade of light, sending sparkling bursts of vivid colour into the night and illuminating the château, the park and the faces of the entire Court.

 

Then it will be time to leave the estate. You will walk down the grand avenue as the members of the Court bow one final time as you pass.

 

At the end of the avenue, your vehicle will be waiting for you at the main gates.

 

You will take your seats inside, beneath the Court’s final farewells, before setting off back towards Paris, with the feeling that, for one evening, you have lived through a true page of French history.

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