FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Jacqueline Kennedy, the former wife of John F. Kennedy, in 1967, four years after the assassination of the President, already one of the most famous women in the world, traveled to Cambodia, at a time when the region was shaken by the war in Vietnam. In the capital Phnom Penh, she was received with honors and placed in the most luxurious hotel in the country, the Hotel Le Royal, built in 1929 and inaugurated by King Sisowath Monivong. In honor of the former First Lady, the hotel bartender created a special cocktail that would remain legendary: the “Femme Fatale”.
A blend of cognac, champagne and strawberry cream, garnished with a flower, this elegant cocktail became a symbol of the finesse and mystery that always accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy.
After the civil war that ravaged Cambodia, many of the hotel's valuables were locked away in storage. But during the property's restoration in 1996, when the hotel was purchased by the Raffles Group, a worker reportedly found the original glass from which Jackie had drunk her cocktail, still with lipstick marks. Today, that glass proudly displays in a display case in the Elephant Bar, alongside photographs of her visit.
The hotel also houses the Kennedy Suite, where a portrait of the former First Lady stands above the white-sheeted beds and cool tiled floors. In the hallway is a copy of Life magazine, bought by Raffles on eBay, open to pages documenting her trip to Cambodia. Expert Elizabeth J. Natalle, author of the book Jacqueline Kennedy and the Architecture of First Lady Diplomacy, describes this period as Jackie’s “transitional time,” between the pain of the assassination and the new life that awaited her. During the visit, she was accompanied by British diplomat David Ormsby-Gore, with whom she had a close, though never consensual, relationship.
Although her trip took place at the height of tensions between the United States and Cambodia, Kennedy insisted that the purpose was simply to visit Angkor Wat, one of Asia’s most ancient and magnificent monuments. She used culture as a tool for a quiet diplomacy that instilled respect without the need for political speeches. Today, after decades of change and war, Raffles Hotel Le Royal remains a symbol of Phnom Penh’s resilience and elegance. It has hosted dignitaries such as Charles de Gaulle, Angelina Jolie and even President Barack Obama.
Lini një Përgjigje