The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller

Author:Sarah Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2019-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

It was Elzire’s hope that her heartfelt plea for help—bolstered in no small part by witnessing her daughters’ irresistible charm firsthand—would move Queen Elizabeth to intervene to reunite the entire Dionne family. Only “a word of astonishment at this separation” would be enough, Elzire asserted.

With this mission in mind, Elzire mounted the steps of the Parliament building, clutching the arm of her confidante, Lillian Barker of the New York Daily News. Elzire’s grip was so insistent, Barker was ushered past the police guard preventing reporters and photographers from entering the building. “Don’t go away,” Elzire whispered. “You’re not just a reporter. You’re my friend.”

Barker made it as far as the anteroom where Nurse Corriveau and Nurse O’Shaughnessy were helping the girls change into the court dresses they would wear to greet George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Dubbed by one reporter “the last word in little-girl loveliness,” the ankle-length gowns were confections of white organza, complete with cape collars, puffed sleeves, and wide taffeta sashes. Black patent-leather slippers peeked from beneath the ruffled hemline, and for a finishing touch, the girls wore old-fashioned white lace mittens. “As the children walk,” Dr. Dafoe promised the press, “the skirt will move gracefully like a cloud of mist about them.” To help distinguish the five sisters from one another, a different flower was nestled into the dark brown curls under each bonnet brim: a sprig of heather for Yvonne, a spray of green for Annette, Scottish bluebells for Cécile, pink rosebuds for Émilie, and yellow rosebuds for Marie.

At the door to the chamber where the royal audience would take place, an official in a coat trimmed with gold braid informed Elzire that six of her children would not be admitted—only the quintuplets and their caregivers. Ernest, Rose-Marie, Thérèse, Daniel, Pauline, and Oliva Jr. would have to sit and wait while their parents and their five identical sisters were presented to King George and Queen Elizabeth.

For weeks, the six of them had dreamed of nothing else. “We’re going to meet the King—the King,” Ernest had proudly crowed as the family inspected the Quintland Special just days before. In truth, no one was certain whether they would be formally presented to George VI and Queen Elizabeth, but, the North Bay Nugget reported, “they had been told that they would be granted the great privilege of at least seeing the Royal couple.” Ernest, Rose-Marie, Thérèse, Daniel, Pauline, and Oliva Jr. had no reason to doubt this promise. Their parents had taken them out of school and bought new Eton jackets for the boys and organdy dresses for the girls especially for the momentous occasion. The disappointment of their last-minute exclusion would ache for years to come.

With her letter to the queen, Elzire Dionne intended to put an end to such divisions between her children. “Keep your fingers crossed,” Elzire told Lillian Barker before they were parted. “I just hope I can give it to her.”

Seven members of the Dionne family, Dr. Dafoe, and the children’s attendants were ushered into the lieutenant governor’s music room.

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