The Treaty of Paris
Albert of course had no role to play in Paris, any more than Palmerston did, luckily. Britain was represented by the Foreign Secretary the Earl of Clarendon and Lord Cowley the ambassador in Paris. For Austria there was Foreign Minister Buol, or to give him his full impressive name, Count Karl Ferdinand von Buol-Schauenstein, and Count Hubner, their ambassador in Paris. The Turks sent their Grand Vizier Aali Pasha and Mehemed Djemil Bey, Ambassador to the French and Sardinians. Russia had the tough experienced negotiator Count Alexei Gregorievitch Orlov, and Baron Philip de Brunnow, whose current official position was Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation, but who had 15 years experience as Ambassador in London. France as hosts, had Count Alexander Colonna Walewski their Foreign Minister, who would chair the discussions, with Vincenti Benedetti as Secretary - remember him with Rose sparking things off in Constantinople in our very early articles? France's other delegate proper was the Baron Francis de Bourqueney, their Ambassador to Austria. The Sardinians as we know from Herman Van Meir's recent article linked above, were Count de Cavour and the Marquis de Villamarina.
This then was the plethora of diplomatic talent which sat down at the Quai d'Orsay for the opening session on 25th February. The immediate business was to agree an armistice for at least the period of the conference, scheduled to run until 31st March. Walewski also had two resolutions passed, to the effect that absolute secrecy on the subject of the conversations would be maintained by all, and that the official record would confine itself to the main points discussed and agreed, without detail of heated arguments and mudslinging. After this backbreaking day's work, all adjourned to dress up in their evening finery for an official banquet and musical evening featuring the best bel canto and ballet that Paris could offer - including the celebrated tenor Mario, dancing by the beautiful Melle Gardoni and a mature Carlotta Grisi, and the not so beautiful soprano Mme Alboni described as 'a nightingale swallowed by an elephant' by a leading female socialite. This evening set the standard for the social pattern for the duration of the conference; it would require iron constitutions all round if any progress was to be made at the table during the myriad mornings after.
In fact the two chief adversaries had had years of experience of the diplomatic round. Both brilliant negotiators, they knew
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