Hai người đàn bà Pháp và nỗi bất hạnh của cha con Cựu Hoàng Bảo Đại

People often imagine that the wealthy live in comfort and happiness. Yet the more one delves into the history of the aristocracy and great dynasties, the more one realizes that reality is quite different. Being a king, a crown prince, or a member of a royal family offers no guarantee of happiness—neither materially nor spiritually—any more than it does for any ordinary child. The fate of the last emperor Bảo Đại, from the age of five until the end of his life, as well as that of his wife and children, stands as a striking illustration of this truth. Behind palace doors, behind splendor and grandeur, often lie endless solitude and profound misfortune that few can truly understand… I then think back to my own childhood: there was poverty, not enough to eat, clothing too thin for the cold, an upbringing of extreme strictness, and no toys. And yet, I was profoundly happy. For beyond all these hardships, my parents offered me a sky full of love, an inexhaustible source of joy. Thus, human happiness has nothing to do with wealth or poverty. Behind the doors of the most opulent homes, there are sometimes lives marked by their own forms of deprivation…