English royal mistress
Encyclopedia
An English royal mistress is the unofficial title used to refer to the person who held the position of unmarried lover to the king of England
either before or after his accession to the throne. Female lovers were, by convention, the most easily acknowledged, and often became influential individuals. However, there appear to have also been male love interests to monarchs, both male and female, who also wielded considerable influence. However, as this was not an official position of any kind, the influence of all Royal lovers was precarious, linked inextricably with their ability to hold the monarch's interest.
Often, these brides were stringently instilled with a sense of chastity that often developed into sexual frigidity. To a king whose sexual appetites were often nurtured by friends and father-figures from a young age, this was a difficult barrier to surmount. This, added to the fact that often there was no physical attraction between the two royal partners, creates a
situation which, to the sensibilities of the time, necessitated the establishment of a royal mistress.
, wife of George II
, often won their husband’s respect and affection. The opposite situation as with Eleanor of Aquitaine
, wife of Henry II
, would probably lead to them earning their husband’s hate and ridicule as a reward. (Eleanor is reputed to have murdered Rosamund Clifford
, her husband’s much younger mistress.) Often, English royal mistresses even served as lady-in-waiting
to the queen; until modern times, this often led to a surprisingly fond relationship between the two. However, this relationship could often be strained when a mistress gave birth to a son that the king often loved more than his own legitimate offspring.
For example, we know that Richard III
, who reigned from 20 June 1483 to 22 August 1485, had two children by the same mother. The children were John of Gloucester
and Katherine, second wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
. Their mother has been identified as Katherine Haute but next to nothing is actually known about this woman.
This neglect in the records of England’s early royal mistresses is partly because the Roman Catholic Church
cast a jaded eye on adultery
as long as mistresses were kept in the background. Knowledge of the specifics of royal mistresses grows exponentially during the English Renaissance
, with the increased prevalence of letter-writing and the English Reformation
under Henry VIII
.
Interestingly enough, the first monarch about whose mistresses we know a relatively large amount of information actually lived fairly early. Henry II
, who reigned 25 October 1154 to 6 July 1189, was notorious for his infidelities. In this case, however, we have only the bare bones of knowledge about these mistresses: names, approximate birth and death dates, and vague physical descriptions. Although they are an improvement, they are barely an exception to the general rule of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Virtually the only Plantagenet
king of whose mistresses we have a relatively detailed account is Edward IV
(reigned 3 March 1461 - 31 October 1470, 11 April 1471 - 9 April 1483). Usually, as in the case of Edward’s brother, Richard III, we know that a mistress was kept but very little else; in Edward’s case, we have names and a comparatively thorough account of their actions; this is mainly because in his younger years, Edward promised and even went through marriage to get many of his mistresses to sleep with him. In many cases, as in that of Lady Eleanor Talbot
, there was insufficient evidence to prove that these marriages actually took place; however, Elizabeth Woodville
was one woman who had proved that such a marriage had taken place. In this way, she was the first English royal mistress to become the English queen.
king, Henry VII
(reigned 22 August 1485 - 21 April 1509), actually took no mistresses despite having married Elizabeth of York
for dynastic reasons. However, this may have been as much because of libidinal deficiency
as much as morality. Others have suggested that Henry VII
was even in love with and faithful to his wife. In any case, there is no record or reason to suggest that he had kept mistresses as king. The only illegitimate child attributed to Henry VII was Sir Roland de Velville
or Veleville, born in 1474, which was twelve years before the marriage of Henry and Elizabeth on 18 January 1486.
In sharp contrast to Henry VII is his son and successor, Henry VIII
(reigned 21 April 1509 - 28 January 1547), whose libidinal surfeit is still fabled – and, perhaps, exaggerated — to this day. His first mistress, in 1514, was a Frenchwoman named Jane Popincourt
, a tutor in languages to Henry’s sisters Margaret
and Mary. Though very little is known of her, her promiscuity was so prominent that even the French king wouldn't allow her back to his court, known for its promiscuity.
Henry VIII’s next mistress was Elizabeth Blount
, who was seventeen or eighteen when she reached the height of her power in 1518. He was much less discreet in this affair – at the Christmas
revels in 1514, Henry danced with her so much that even docile, accepting Catherine of Aragon was so jealous that she persuaded Henry to exclude her from the Twelfth Night
festivities. However, in 1517 the king was reputed to be “in the chains of love with her,” and in the spring of 1519, Elizabeth gave birth to a boy, a child she named Henry Fitzroy
–Henry, son of the king. Elizabeth Blount, having fulfilled her main purpose, was married off to Gilbert Tailboys, 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme, one of his courtiers whose family was said to have a history of insanity, and was remembered fondly by Henry with the occasional New Years gift.
The King’s next mistress was another Englishwoman, Mary Boleyn
, who had been living in France. At the French court she was, like Jane Popincourt, known for her promiscuity: the rakish Francis I of France
, reputed to have been “clothed in women,” boasted that he, like most of his friends, had slept with Mary Boleyn, describing her as “a great prostitute, infamous above all.” Although she was married to Sir William Carey when her affair with Henry began in the early 1520s, Carey is thought to have been compliant. Both her children by her first marriage, Catherine Carey
and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
, were reputed to be illegitimates of Henry. Mary was afterwards sent to live in the country with her husband.
Henry’s next mistress was Anne Boleyn
, sister to Mary Boleyn and the mistress who would become his queen. Although there has been some historical dispute over which sister was the elder, it was most certainly Mary, making Anne the younger sister of one of Henry’s previous mistresses. At the time that Henry first noticed Anne, he was also beginning proceedings for his divorce from barren Catherine of Aragon, and as Anne refused to sleep with him unless she was his wife, it seemed logical that he should make her his wife. She became his mistress in the truest sense of the word in 1532 (six years after he had first noticed her), and on 25 January 1533, she and Henry were married. Henry went on to marry Jane Seymour
, Anne of Cleves
, Catherine Howard
and Catherine Parr
. But from the beginning of his third marriage to his death, Henry did not take another mistress that record exists of today. His other reputed illegitimate children, Thomas Stukley
, John Perrot
and Etheldreda Malte, were all born in the 1520s.
Henry also took mistresses while Anne Boleyn was pregnant, two, in fact, and one was Mary Shelton
, although not much is known about this. The other was Jane Seymour, who like Anne became his wife.
Four other monarchs of the Tudor dynasty followed Henry VIII. His son Edward VI
succeeded to the throne when he was nine-years old. He died on 6 July 1553, two months short of his sixteenth birthday. He was arguably too young to have had a mistress and there is no record mentioning one. Edward VI was followed by Lady Jane Grey
(reigned 1553), Mary I
(reigned 1553–1558), and Elizabeth I
(reigned 1558–1603). There is no suggestion that Jane or Mary took lovers outside of their respective marriages to Lord Guilford Dudley and Philip II of Spain
. Elizabeth I's status as a 'Virgin Queen' was an important part of her public image. Although Elizabeth clearly had favourites, there is no clear evidence that any of these was a lover (although they are sometimes portrayed as such in fiction).
was succeeded by James VI of Scotland. He rose to the English throne as James I. He was widely suspected of being homosexual, and had a series of intensely emotional relationships with men, both older and younger than himself throughout his life, the last being with Robert Carr
and George Villiers
. Whether these were consummated physically is a controversial subject among historians, although the majority is against consummation.
Robert Carr, who was Scottish like the king, caught James’ attention when he fell off a horse and broke his leg during a joust
. The king nursed him through his injury and supervised his nurses, doctors, and diet, and even tried to teach Robert some Latin
. After he had recovered, Carr was truly James’ favourite
, quickly being made both a knight and then the Viscount Rochester, given a seat on the Privy Council
, and created the Earl of Somerset in rapid succession. James did not care whether his favourites married or remained single; when Robert Carr expressed love for Frances Howard
, a woman already married to Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
, James had the earlier marriage annulled on 25 September 1613 so that Somerset could lawfully marry Frances on 26 December 1613.
However, Robert’s time in the king’s affections was cut short. On 15 September 1613, ten days prior to the annulment, Thomas Overbury
had died of poison while imprisoned in the Tower of London
. Overbury was a friend of Robert but fervently against the marriage to Frances. In April, the supporters of the union had tried to remove him by convincing James I to assign him as his ambassador to the court of Michael of Russia
. Overbury was by then too much involved in the case and declined the royal assignment so James had him imprisoned. Overbury had been poisoned with sulphuric acid
in the form of copper salts. Edward Coke
and Francis Bacon
worked together in the trial of the poisoners which began in 1615. By the time it was over in early 1616, Frances had been found guilty of having hired the poisoners and orchestrated the murder. Robert claimed ignorance but was sentenced to death with his wife as an accomplice. James commuted the sentences to imprisonment. The couple were eventually released but never regained their positions at court.
George Villiers
followed after the deposition of Robert Carr, and his rise in royal favour was so quick that contemporaries described it as a flight rather than a growth. Many assumed that his fall from favour would be just as rapid; in preparation, the ambitious Howard family arranged for a boy named William Monson
to become known to James. William was the second son of William Monson but would gain greater fame as one of the Regicides of Charles I of England
.
However, Villiers proved himself to be far more long-lasting, and James’s relationship had a paternal element. James even described George as “my sweet child and wife” while signing himself “your old dad and husband.” James, besotted with George, married his lover to Katherine Manners
, the richest heiress in England and the next-in-line for the title and associated property of the barony of Ros
which she would inherit in 1632. James also showered the Villiers family with titles and money, making them amongst the most powerful in the kingdom.
James I
was followed by his son Charles I
, who was also extremely attached to Villiers, until the latter was murdered by John Felton
on 23 August 1628. Charles is not known to have had a physical relationship with anybody but his wife and queen Henrietta Maria of France
(Wilson, 27).
In contrast to his father’s pious fidelity, however is Charles II
, the most notorious womanizer of the English kings sometimes labelled the Merry Monarch. (Isaac Newton it is reckoned / Lived in the reign of Charles the Second / Charles's forte was depravity / But Isaac came out strong for gravity—E. C. Bentley) Among his list of mistresses are included: Lucy Walter
, Barbara Villiers
, Louise de Kérouaille
, Hortense Mancini
, Nell Gwyn
, Mary Davis, Winifred Wells, Jane Roberts, Mrs. Knight, Mary Bagot (widow of Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth
) and Elizabeth, Countess of Kildare. Among these women are both the noble and the common: Charles is the first monarch whose mistresses from the lower classes are recorded. These women provided him with fourteen acknowledged bastards.
Barbara Villiers, his longest-standing mistress (ten years), was a woman well known for her sexual promiscuity and she had affairs with at least five other men during her tenure as mistress (and one of these was with Charles’s own bastards by Lucy Walter). Barbara also wielded considerable political power, obtaining for her friends and family places on the Privy Council
and undermining peace efforts between the Kingdom of England
and the Dutch Republic
. Another of his mistresses, Louise de Kérouaille, was a known French spy, and the one who followed her, Hortense Mancini, reportedly the wildest and most beautiful of Charles’s mistresses, was known to be lesbian
. (She was also known to be a lover of Anne Palmer
, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.) The most famous of Charles's mistresses, Nell Gwyn, was a stage actress and had been a prostitute before the king became interested in her.(His dying thoughts are reported to have been a concern that provision should be made for her.)
Charles II, for all his proficiency at begetting bastards, was unable to father a legitimate heir with his wife Catherine of Braganza
. However, one of his illegitimate sons, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
, launched a bid to succeed him. Monmouth claimed that Charles had actually secretly married his mother, Lucy Walter
, whilst in exile on the continent (if true this event would make Monmouth the legitimate heir to the throne). Monmouth's rebellion failed, at least in part because he could not produce evidence to support his legitimacy, and Lucy is usually considered by historians to be a royal mistress rather than a secret wife.
Charles was actually succeeded by his younger brother James II
, who had at least eleven mistresses. He did not follow the accepted standard of beauty of the time: while his contemporaries sought out heavy-set, voluptuous women on the Baroque
model, James was attracted to skinny, boyish young girls in their teens. He was a Catholic
, and his brother Charles II joked that his mistresses were so ugly that they must have been provided as penance
by his confessors. He may have experienced guilt after his sexual encounters with his mistresses, and when one of them, Anne Hyde
, became pregnant with his child in 1660, he married her despite her unattractiveness. His longest-lasting mistress, Arabella Churchill
, was described as nothing but skin and bone. He noticed her while out for a ride; she fell from her horse, exposing her legs. She would bear him four illegitimate children. However, she was only one in a list of eleven mistresses, the rest of whom were short-lived affairs that resulted from meetings at court.
Neither Mary II
nor Anne had any physical relationships outside of marriage, although Anne had intense emotional attachments to first Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
and then her cousin Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham, both of whom became politically important. On the other hand William III
, husband and co-ruler of Mary II had one acknowledged mistress, Elizabeth Villiers
.
, the English king who could only speak German
, brought with him to the Kingdom of Great Britain
his long-established mistress: Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg
, who was so tall and scrawny that she was nicknamed “the maypole”. Sophia von Kielmansegg, sometimes referred to as a mistress of George I, was actually his illegitimate half-sister; they were both children of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover. She was known to compete for influence with Melusine and assumed, or pretended, to be a mistress by the British courtiers.
George II
had only one principal mistress, Henrietta Howard
, who maintained this station for well over a decade. It is probable that George II considered having a mistress necessary, for he was very much in love with his wife Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach. He made a point of visiting Henrietta for several hours each night, locking the door, but most agreed that they spent their time playing cards. However, when she became deaf in her early forties, he quickly became bored with her, and they parted amiably. George II did not take another mistress after his wife’s death of umbilical rupture on 20 November 1737, until Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth
.
George III followed the more chaste examples of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales
and grandfather George II. He took no serious mistress during his reign. This comparative virtue was favored by the increasingly chaste moral standards of the time. However he was later rumoured to have secretly married Hannah Lightfoot
prior to his public wedding to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
.
His son George IV, first Prince Regent
during George III’s periods of insanity and then king following his death, carried on an affair of twenty years with a widow, Maria Fitzherbert, with whom he lived and considered his true wife. He was reported to have even married her, even though he became increasingly unfaithful and accepted the paternity of several bastard children throughout this time period. Afterwards, he rejected any possible marriage he might have made with Mrs. Fitzherbert. His other notable mistresses included Mary Robinson
, Frances Twysden
, Grace Elliott
, Isabella Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford and Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
.
George IV and his legitimate wife Caroline of Brunswick
were never fond of their arranged marriage and lived separately from 1796 to her death on 7 August 1821. Their only daughter Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
was born very early in the marriage. That both George and Caroline took other lovers was not therefore unexpected. George survived his only legitimate daughter. He was succeeded by his younger brother William IV on 26 June 1830. William had cohabited with his mistress Dorothy Jordan from the late 1780s to 1811. He only married his wife Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
on 11 July 1818. They were reputed to have a happy marriage until his death on 20 June 1837 and evidence of any other mistress is absent.
Queen Victoria
married her husband Albert whilst very young, and enjoyed a devoted marriage until his death in 1861. In grief-stricken widowhood she largely closed herself away from the world. However, in the latter part of her reign, there was contemporary gossip around her manservant and friend John Brown
. Some more far-fetched accounts even suggested a secret marriage. In reality, there is no evidence that the relationship was anything other than platonic.
, who ascended on 22 January 1901, was notorious for his many infidelities—however, each of these affairs was carried out in a kind and discreet manner, which did much to endear him to his subjects. His notable mistresses included a French actress, Hortense Schneider
, Giulia Barucci, who boasted that she was the “greatest whore in the world,” Susan Pelham-Clinton
, who had already eloped twice, Lillie Langtry
, an actress who had also been courted by Edward’s brother and an Austrian prince, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
, and Alice Keppel
, who of all his mistresses had the most political power and sat at his deathbed in 1910. He fathered surprisingly few royal bastards considering their number and the fecundity he enjoyed with his wife Alexandra of Denmark
.
, only Edward VIII
and Charles, Prince of Wales
have carried on public affairs. Edward VIII's
affair with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson by far outshines his earlier peccadilloes. Although he had already met her in San Diego, California
in 1920, he was charmed by her openness, which he associated with Americans
, when he met her again in Leicester
in 1931. By 1934, they were lovers. However, by 1936, he had ascended the throne and she had divorced her husband Ernest; nevertheless, Edward was determined to make Wallis his wife. However, the teaching of the contemporary Church of England
, of which Edward was Supreme Governor, was that divorcees could not re-marry within the lifetime of former spouses. Commonwealth Prime Ministers were not unanimous on whether the marriage would be unconstitutional, but there was considerable opposition, led by the British Government and the Archbishops. Public sympathy was similarly divided, and the issue threatened to become a constitutional crisis: the morganatic marriages
of some monarchs had not been known in Britain. On 11 December 1936, Edward abdicated, and left the United Kingdom
so that he could marry his mistress and live in exile.
Similarly, there is the current Prince of Wales
, Charles. The great love of his life was not his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales
, but Camilla Parker Bowles (a great-granddaughter of Edward VII's mistress Alice Keppel
). His ongoing affair with her, which lasted from 1970 and through his marriage to Diana, was exploited by the mass media (tabloids and others) during his divorce from his vastly popular first wife; this created a generally bad public image for Charles. After his divorce and Diana’s later death, he and Camilla could still not marry because of the strength of public opposition. However, public anger subsided, and they received permission from the Queen in 2005, and were subsequently married in a civil ceremony on April 10, 2005. The Anglican teaching on marriage was still an issue and may have influenced Queen Elizabeth not to attend.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
either before or after his accession to the throne. Female lovers were, by convention, the most easily acknowledged, and often became influential individuals. However, there appear to have also been male love interests to monarchs, both male and female, who also wielded considerable influence. However, as this was not an official position of any kind, the influence of all Royal lovers was precarious, linked inextricably with their ability to hold the monarch's interest.
Reasons a royal mistress was taken
The primary reason a king would take a mistress seems to be the fact that royal marriages were rarely, if ever, based on love alone. Most often, English monarchs made a dynastic match, first for the production of heirs of royal blood and second for the treaties and huge dowry that often accompanied such brides. Compatibility was rarely considered in the contracting of these marriages.Often, these brides were stringently instilled with a sense of chastity that often developed into sexual frigidity. To a king whose sexual appetites were often nurtured by friends and father-figures from a young age, this was a difficult barrier to surmount. This, added to the fact that often there was no physical attraction between the two royal partners, creates a
situation which, to the sensibilities of the time, necessitated the establishment of a royal mistress.
Relationship between the mistress and the king
Beyond the physical relationship, the royal mistress had one other duty to maintain her position. This duty was, simply, to be unfailingly amusing. A mistress had to be witty, charming, and talkative but had to remember to listen to the king when he wished. She had to be constantly available to the king should he want food, conversation, or sex. The stress of having to be constantly perfect sometimes led to a mistress’s early death.Relationship between the mistress and the queen
Relationships between a king’s queen and his mistress varied between amiable acceptance and jealous hatred. Some wives were contented and even relieved to be supplanted in the marriage bed. Docile wives like Caroline of AnsbachCaroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
, wife of George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
, often won their husband’s respect and affection. The opposite situation as with Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
, wife of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, would probably lead to them earning their husband’s hate and ridicule as a reward. (Eleanor is reputed to have murdered Rosamund Clifford
Rosamund Clifford
Rosamund Clifford , often called "The Fair Rosamund" or the "Rose of the World", was famed for her beauty and was a mistress of King Henry II of England, famous in English folklore....
, her husband’s much younger mistress.) Often, English royal mistresses even served as lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to the queen; until modern times, this often led to a surprisingly fond relationship between the two. However, this relationship could often be strained when a mistress gave birth to a son that the king often loved more than his own legitimate offspring.
Mistresses during the Norman and Plantagenet era (1066-1485)
Before the 15th century, there is very little surviving record about English royal mistresses; there is the proof of the fruit of these affairs, royal bastards, but very seldom are the mothers of this offspring mentioned.For example, we know that Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, who reigned from 20 June 1483 to 22 August 1485, had two children by the same mother. The children were John of Gloucester
John of Gloucester
John of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of Richard III of England. John is so called because his father was Duke of Gloucester at the time of his birth....
and Katherine, second wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Devereux. His maternal grandparents were Walter Devereux, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Elizabeth Merbury....
. Their mother has been identified as Katherine Haute but next to nothing is actually known about this woman.
This neglect in the records of England’s early royal mistresses is partly because the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
cast a jaded eye on adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
as long as mistresses were kept in the background. Knowledge of the specifics of royal mistresses grows exponentially during the English Renaissance
English Renaissance
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century; like most of northern...
, with the increased prevalence of letter-writing and the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
Interestingly enough, the first monarch about whose mistresses we know a relatively large amount of information actually lived fairly early. Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, who reigned 25 October 1154 to 6 July 1189, was notorious for his infidelities. In this case, however, we have only the bare bones of knowledge about these mistresses: names, approximate birth and death dates, and vague physical descriptions. Although they are an improvement, they are barely an exception to the general rule of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Virtually the only Plantagenet
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
king of whose mistresses we have a relatively detailed account is Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(reigned 3 March 1461 - 31 October 1470, 11 April 1471 - 9 April 1483). Usually, as in the case of Edward’s brother, Richard III, we know that a mistress was kept but very little else; in Edward’s case, we have names and a comparatively thorough account of their actions; this is mainly because in his younger years, Edward promised and even went through marriage to get many of his mistresses to sleep with him. In many cases, as in that of Lady Eleanor Talbot
Lady Eleanor Talbot
Lady Eleanor Talbot was a daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Her alleged pre-contract of marriage with King Edward IV of England was of great significance to the final fate of the Plantagenet dynasty and outcome of the Wars of the Roses.-Marriage:In 1449, 13-year-old Eleanor married...
, there was insufficient evidence to prove that these marriages actually took place; however, Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
was one woman who had proved that such a marriage had taken place. In this way, she was the first English royal mistress to become the English queen.
Mistresses during the Tudor era (1485-1603)
The first TudorTudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
king, Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
(reigned 22 August 1485 - 21 April 1509), actually took no mistresses despite having married Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
for dynastic reasons. However, this may have been as much because of libidinal deficiency
Libido
Libido refers to a person's sex drive or desire for sexual activity. The desire for sex is an aspect of a person's sexuality, but varies enormously from one person to another, and it also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time. A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly...
as much as morality. Others have suggested that Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
was even in love with and faithful to his wife. In any case, there is no record or reason to suggest that he had kept mistresses as king. The only illegitimate child attributed to Henry VII was Sir Roland de Velville
Roland de Velville
Sir Roland de Velville was thought to be an illegitimate son of King Henry VII of England by "a Breton lady".In 1509, he was appointed Constable of Beaumaris Castle in Wales, a position he held till his death. He was knighted in 1497...
or Veleville, born in 1474, which was twelve years before the marriage of Henry and Elizabeth on 18 January 1486.
In sharp contrast to Henry VII is his son and successor, Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(reigned 21 April 1509 - 28 January 1547), whose libidinal surfeit is still fabled – and, perhaps, exaggerated — to this day. His first mistress, in 1514, was a Frenchwoman named Jane Popincourt
Jane Popincourt
Jane Popincourt was a French maid-of-honour at the royal court of Louis XII and later of Francis I. For around twelve years, she had a position at the English court, first in the reign of Henry VII, as a distinguished tutor engaged to teach French to the princesses Margaret and Mary; and later in...
, a tutor in languages to Henry’s sisters Margaret
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
and Mary. Though very little is known of her, her promiscuity was so prominent that even the French king wouldn't allow her back to his court, known for its promiscuity.
Henry VIII’s next mistress was Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount , who was better known by her nickname of "Bessie", was a mistress of Henry VIII of England.-Early life:She was the daughter of Sir John Blount and Catherine Pershall, of Kinlet, Bridgnorth, Shropshire...
, who was seventeen or eighteen when she reached the height of her power in 1518. He was much less discreet in this affair – at the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
revels in 1514, Henry danced with her so much that even docile, accepting Catherine of Aragon was so jealous that she persuaded Henry to exclude her from the Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the...
festivities. However, in 1517 the king was reputed to be “in the chains of love with her,” and in the spring of 1519, Elizabeth gave birth to a boy, a child she named Henry Fitzroy
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
–Henry, son of the king. Elizabeth Blount, having fulfilled her main purpose, was married off to Gilbert Tailboys, 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme, one of his courtiers whose family was said to have a history of insanity, and was remembered fondly by Henry with the occasional New Years gift.
The King’s next mistress was another Englishwoman, Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
, who had been living in France. At the French court she was, like Jane Popincourt, known for her promiscuity: the rakish Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, reputed to have been “clothed in women,” boasted that he, like most of his friends, had slept with Mary Boleyn, describing her as “a great prostitute, infamous above all.” Although she was married to Sir William Carey when her affair with Henry began in the early 1520s, Carey is thought to have been compliant. Both her children by her first marriage, Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey
Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey, after her marriage Katherine Knollys and later Lady Knollys, pronounced "Noles" Katherine Carey, often spelt Catherine Carey,...
and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, of Hunsdon was an English nobleman.He was the son of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn and also the mistress to King Henry VIII of England...
, were reputed to be illegitimates of Henry. Mary was afterwards sent to live in the country with her husband.
Henry’s next mistress was Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, sister to Mary Boleyn and the mistress who would become his queen. Although there has been some historical dispute over which sister was the elder, it was most certainly Mary, making Anne the younger sister of one of Henry’s previous mistresses. At the time that Henry first noticed Anne, he was also beginning proceedings for his divorce from barren Catherine of Aragon, and as Anne refused to sleep with him unless she was his wife, it seemed logical that he should make her his wife. She became his mistress in the truest sense of the word in 1532 (six years after he had first noticed her), and on 25 January 1533, she and Henry were married. Henry went on to marry Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
, Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
and Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
. But from the beginning of his third marriage to his death, Henry did not take another mistress that record exists of today. His other reputed illegitimate children, Thomas Stukley
Thomas Stukley
Thomas Stukley was an English mercenary who served in combat in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto, before his death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. It was alleged that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England...
, John Perrot
John Perrot
Sir John Perrot served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland...
and Etheldreda Malte, were all born in the 1520s.
Henry also took mistresses while Anne Boleyn was pregnant, two, in fact, and one was Mary Shelton
Mary Shelton
Margaret Shelton and Mary Shelton were two sisters in Tudor England, one of whom may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII....
, although not much is known about this. The other was Jane Seymour, who like Anne became his wife.
Four other monarchs of the Tudor dynasty followed Henry VIII. His son Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
succeeded to the throne when he was nine-years old. He died on 6 July 1553, two months short of his sixteenth birthday. He was arguably too young to have had a mistress and there is no record mentioning one. Edward VI was followed by Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
(reigned 1553), Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(reigned 1553–1558), and Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
(reigned 1558–1603). There is no suggestion that Jane or Mary took lovers outside of their respective marriages to Lord Guilford Dudley and Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Elizabeth I's status as a 'Virgin Queen' was an important part of her public image. Although Elizabeth clearly had favourites, there is no clear evidence that any of these was a lover (although they are sometimes portrayed as such in fiction).
Mistresses during the Stuart era (1603-1714)
Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
was succeeded by James VI of Scotland. He rose to the English throne as James I. He was widely suspected of being homosexual, and had a series of intensely emotional relationships with men, both older and younger than himself throughout his life, the last being with Robert Carr
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, , was a politician, and favourite of King James I of England.-Background:Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehurst, Scotland by his second wife, Janet, sister of Walter Scott of Buccleuch...
and George Villiers
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
. Whether these were consummated physically is a controversial subject among historians, although the majority is against consummation.
Robert Carr, who was Scottish like the king, caught James’ attention when he fell off a horse and broke his leg during a joust
Jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
. The king nursed him through his injury and supervised his nurses, doctors, and diet, and even tried to teach Robert some Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. After he had recovered, Carr was truly James’ favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
, quickly being made both a knight and then the Viscount Rochester, given a seat on the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, and created the Earl of Somerset in rapid succession. James did not care whether his favourites married or remained single; when Robert Carr expressed love for Frances Howard
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset was an English noblewoman who was the central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I...
, a woman already married to Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
, James had the earlier marriage annulled on 25 September 1613 so that Somerset could lawfully marry Frances on 26 December 1613.
However, Robert’s time in the king’s affections was cut short. On 15 September 1613, ten days prior to the annulment, Thomas Overbury
Thomas Overbury
Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
had died of poison while imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Overbury was a friend of Robert but fervently against the marriage to Frances. In April, the supporters of the union had tried to remove him by convincing James I to assign him as his ambassador to the court of Michael of Russia
Michael of Russia
Mikhail I Fyodorovich Romanov Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was the first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov. He was the son of Feodor Nikitich Romanov and Xenia...
. Overbury was by then too much involved in the case and declined the royal assignment so James had him imprisoned. Overbury had been poisoned with sulphuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
in the form of copper salts. Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
and Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
worked together in the trial of the poisoners which began in 1615. By the time it was over in early 1616, Frances had been found guilty of having hired the poisoners and orchestrated the murder. Robert claimed ignorance but was sentenced to death with his wife as an accomplice. James commuted the sentences to imprisonment. The couple were eventually released but never regained their positions at court.
George Villiers
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
followed after the deposition of Robert Carr, and his rise in royal favour was so quick that contemporaries described it as a flight rather than a growth. Many assumed that his fall from favour would be just as rapid; in preparation, the ambitious Howard family arranged for a boy named William Monson
William Monson, 1st Viscount Monson
William Monson, 1st Viscount Monson was one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England.William Monson was son of Sir Thomas Monson. He was created Viscount Monson of Castlemaine in 1628 and knighted in 1633. He was elected M.P. for Reigate in 1640, 1645 and 1648. He was nominated as one of...
to become known to James. William was the second son of William Monson but would gain greater fame as one of the Regicides of Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
However, Villiers proved himself to be far more long-lasting, and James’s relationship had a paternal element. James even described George as “my sweet child and wife” while signing himself “your old dad and husband.” James, besotted with George, married his lover to Katherine Manners
Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham
Katherine Manners, Duchess of Buckingham, 19th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley , also known as Catherine, was the daughter and heir of the 18th Baron de Ros. She was known as the richest woman in Britain, apart from royalty...
, the richest heiress in England and the next-in-line for the title and associated property of the barony of Ros
Baron de Ros
The title of Baron de Ros of Helmsley is the most ancient baronial title in the Peerage of England. The title of Baron de Ros of Helmsley is the most ancient baronial title in the Peerage of England. The title of Baron de Ros of Helmsley is the most ancient baronial title in the Peerage of England....
which she would inherit in 1632. James also showered the Villiers family with titles and money, making them amongst the most powerful in the kingdom.
James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
was followed by his son Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, who was also extremely attached to Villiers, until the latter was murdered by John Felton
John Felton
John Felton was a lieutenant in the English army who stabbed George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham to death in Portsmouth on 23 August 1628.-Background:...
on 23 August 1628. Charles is not known to have had a physical relationship with anybody but his wife and queen Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
(Wilson, 27).
In contrast to his father’s pious fidelity, however is Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, the most notorious womanizer of the English kings sometimes labelled the Merry Monarch. (Isaac Newton it is reckoned / Lived in the reign of Charles the Second / Charles's forte was depravity / But Isaac came out strong for gravity—E. C. Bentley) Among his list of mistresses are included: Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter or Lucy Barlow was a mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. She is believed to have been born in 1630 or a little later at Roch Castle near Haverfordwest, Wales into a family of middling gentry...
, Barbara Villiers
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled...
, Louise de Kérouaille
Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth was a mistress of Charles II of England. Through her son by Charles II, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, she is ancestress of both wives of The Prince of Wales: the late Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as The Duchess of...
, Hortense Mancini
Hortense Mancini
Hortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin , was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
, Mary Davis, Winifred Wells, Jane Roberts, Mrs. Knight, Mary Bagot (widow of Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth
Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth
Charles Berkeley 1st Earl of Falmouth was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge and his wife Penelope née Godolphin ....
) and Elizabeth, Countess of Kildare. Among these women are both the noble and the common: Charles is the first monarch whose mistresses from the lower classes are recorded. These women provided him with fourteen acknowledged bastards.
Barbara Villiers, his longest-standing mistress (ten years), was a woman well known for her sexual promiscuity and she had affairs with at least five other men during her tenure as mistress (and one of these was with Charles’s own bastards by Lucy Walter). Barbara also wielded considerable political power, obtaining for her friends and family places on the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
and undermining peace efforts between the Kingdom of England
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
and the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. Another of his mistresses, Louise de Kérouaille, was a known French spy, and the one who followed her, Hortense Mancini, reportedly the wildest and most beautiful of Charles’s mistresses, was known to be lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. (She was also known to be a lover of Anne Palmer
Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex
Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex , formerly Lady Anne Palmer, alias Fitzroy, was the eldest daughter of Barbara Palmer née Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, and most likely Charles II of England or Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield.-Biography:She was born Anne Palmer on 25 February 1661...
, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.) The most famous of Charles's mistresses, Nell Gwyn, was a stage actress and had been a prostitute before the king became interested in her.(His dying thoughts are reported to have been a concern that provision should be made for her.)
Charles II, for all his proficiency at begetting bastards, was unable to father a legitimate heir with his wife Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
. However, one of his illegitimate sons, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
, launched a bid to succeed him. Monmouth claimed that Charles had actually secretly married his mother, Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter or Lucy Barlow was a mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. She is believed to have been born in 1630 or a little later at Roch Castle near Haverfordwest, Wales into a family of middling gentry...
, whilst in exile on the continent (if true this event would make Monmouth the legitimate heir to the throne). Monmouth's rebellion failed, at least in part because he could not produce evidence to support his legitimacy, and Lucy is usually considered by historians to be a royal mistress rather than a secret wife.
Charles was actually succeeded by his younger brother James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, who had at least eleven mistresses. He did not follow the accepted standard of beauty of the time: while his contemporaries sought out heavy-set, voluptuous women on the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
model, James was attracted to skinny, boyish young girls in their teens. He was a Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and his brother Charles II joked that his mistresses were so ugly that they must have been provided as penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
by his confessors. He may have experienced guilt after his sexual encounters with his mistresses, and when one of them, Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain....
, became pregnant with his child in 1660, he married her despite her unattractiveness. His longest-lasting mistress, Arabella Churchill
Arabella Churchill (royal mistress)
Arabella Churchill was the mistress of King James II, and the mother of four of his children...
, was described as nothing but skin and bone. He noticed her while out for a ride; she fell from her horse, exposing her legs. She would bear him four illegitimate children. However, she was only one in a list of eleven mistresses, the rest of whom were short-lived affairs that resulted from meetings at court.
Neither Mary II
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
nor Anne had any physical relationships outside of marriage, although Anne had intense emotional attachments to first Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
and then her cousin Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham, both of whom became politically important. On the other hand William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, husband and co-ruler of Mary II had one acknowledged mistress, Elizabeth Villiers
Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney
Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney , was the acknowledged mistress of William III & II, King of England and Scotland, from 1680 until 1695...
.
Mistresses during the Hanoverian era (1714-1901)
George IGeorge I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, the English king who could only speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, brought with him to the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
his long-established mistress: Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg
Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal and Munster
Ehrengard Melusine Baroness von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal and Duchess of Munster was born at Emden near Magdeburg. Her middle name was probably given in reference to the Melusine legends. Her brother was Marshal Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg...
, who was so tall and scrawny that she was nicknamed “the maypole”. Sophia von Kielmansegg, sometimes referred to as a mistress of George I, was actually his illegitimate half-sister; they were both children of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover. She was known to compete for influence with Melusine and assumed, or pretended, to be a mistress by the British courtiers.
George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
had only one principal mistress, Henrietta Howard
Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk
Henrietta Howard was a mistress of King George II of Great Britain.She was the daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet, a Norfolk landowner who was killed in a duel when Henrietta was aged eight...
, who maintained this station for well over a decade. It is probable that George II considered having a mistress necessary, for he was very much in love with his wife Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach. He made a point of visiting Henrietta for several hours each night, locking the door, but most agreed that they spent their time playing cards. However, when she became deaf in her early forties, he quickly became bored with her, and they parted amiably. George II did not take another mistress after his wife’s death of umbilical rupture on 20 November 1737, until Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth
Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth
Amalie Sophie Marianne von Wallmoden, 1st Countess of Yarmouth was the mistress of George II of Great Britain from the mid-1730s until his death in 1760. Born into one prominent family in Hanover and wed into another, she became a naturalised citizen of Britain in 1740 and was granted the life...
.
George III followed the more chaste examples of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
and grandfather George II. He took no serious mistress during his reign. This comparative virtue was favored by the increasingly chaste moral standards of the time. However he was later rumoured to have secretly married Hannah Lightfoot
Hannah Lightfoot
Hannah Lightfoot the 'Fair Quaker' who is erroneously said to have been the first wife of George III of the United Kingdom.- Biography :...
prior to his public wedding to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
.
His son George IV, first Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
during George III’s periods of insanity and then king following his death, carried on an affair of twenty years with a widow, Maria Fitzherbert, with whom he lived and considered his true wife. He was reported to have even married her, even though he became increasingly unfaithful and accepted the paternity of several bastard children throughout this time period. Afterwards, he rejected any possible marriage he might have made with Mrs. Fitzherbert. His other notable mistresses included Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson (poet)
Mary Robinson was an English poet and novelist. During her lifetime she is known as 'the English Sappho'...
, Frances Twysden
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...
, Grace Elliott
Grace Elliott
Grace Dalrymple Elliott was a Scottish socialite and courtesan who was resident in Paris at the time of the French Revolution and an eyewitness to events. She was once mistress of the Duke of Orléans, who was cousin to King Louis XVI....
, Isabella Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford and Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
Elizabeth Conyngham , Marchioness Conyngham , was an English courtier and noblewoman, and the last mistress of George IV of the United Kingdom.- Early life :...
.
George IV and his legitimate wife Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
were never fond of their arranged marriage and lived separately from 1796 to her death on 7 August 1821. Their only daughter Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte of Wales was the only child of George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick...
was born very early in the marriage. That both George and Caroline took other lovers was not therefore unexpected. George survived his only legitimate daughter. He was succeeded by his younger brother William IV on 26 June 1830. William had cohabited with his mistress Dorothy Jordan from the late 1780s to 1811. He only married his wife Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
on 11 July 1818. They were reputed to have a happy marriage until his death on 20 June 1837 and evidence of any other mistress is absent.
Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
married her husband Albert whilst very young, and enjoyed a devoted marriage until his death in 1861. In grief-stricken widowhood she largely closed herself away from the world. However, in the latter part of her reign, there was contemporary gossip around her manservant and friend John Brown
John Brown (servant)
John Brown was a Scottish personal servant and favourite of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom for many years. He was appreciated by many for his competence and companionship, and resented by others for his influence and informal manner...
. Some more far-fetched accounts even suggested a secret marriage. In reality, there is no evidence that the relationship was anything other than platonic.
Mistresses during the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha era (1901-1917)
However, Victoria's son Edward VIIEdward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, who ascended on 22 January 1901, was notorious for his many infidelities—however, each of these affairs was carried out in a kind and discreet manner, which did much to endear him to his subjects. His notable mistresses included a French actress, Hortense Schneider
Hortense Schneider
Hortense Catherine Schneider, La Snédèr, was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jacques Offenbach.-Biography:...
, Giulia Barucci, who boasted that she was the “greatest whore in the world,” Susan Pelham-Clinton
Susan Pelham-Clinton
Susan Charlotte Catherine Pelham-Clinton, Lady Vane-Tempest , was a British noblewoman and one of the mistresses of King Edward VII of England when he was Prince of Wales. Lady Susan was a bridesmaid to Victoria, Princess Royal and two years later became the wife of Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest...
, who had already eloped twice, Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, an actress who had also been courted by Edward’s brother and an Austrian prince, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick was a society beauty, and mistress to King Edward VII.-Family:...
, and Alice Keppel
Alice Keppel
Alice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
, who of all his mistresses had the most political power and sat at his deathbed in 1910. He fathered surprisingly few royal bastards considering their number and the fecundity he enjoyed with his wife Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
.
Mistresses during the Windsor era (1917-present)
Of the currently reigning House of WindsorHouse of Windsor
The House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom...
, only Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
and Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
have carried on public affairs. Edward VIII's
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
affair with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson by far outshines his earlier peccadilloes. Although he had already met her in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 1920, he was charmed by her openness, which he associated with Americans
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
, when he met her again in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1931. By 1934, they were lovers. However, by 1936, he had ascended the throne and she had divorced her husband Ernest; nevertheless, Edward was determined to make Wallis his wife. However, the teaching of the contemporary Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, of which Edward was Supreme Governor, was that divorcees could not re-marry within the lifetime of former spouses. Commonwealth Prime Ministers were not unanimous on whether the marriage would be unconstitutional, but there was considerable opposition, led by the British Government and the Archbishops. Public sympathy was similarly divided, and the issue threatened to become a constitutional crisis: the morganatic marriages
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
of some monarchs had not been known in Britain. On 11 December 1936, Edward abdicated, and left the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
so that he could marry his mistress and live in exile.
Similarly, there is the current Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Charles. The great love of his life was not his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, but Camilla Parker Bowles (a great-granddaughter of Edward VII's mistress Alice Keppel
Alice Keppel
Alice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
). His ongoing affair with her, which lasted from 1970 and through his marriage to Diana, was exploited by the mass media (tabloids and others) during his divorce from his vastly popular first wife; this created a generally bad public image for Charles. After his divorce and Diana’s later death, he and Camilla could still not marry because of the strength of public opposition. However, public anger subsided, and they received permission from the Queen in 2005, and were subsequently married in a civil ceremony on April 10, 2005. The Anglican teaching on marriage was still an issue and may have influenced Queen Elizabeth not to attend.
External links
- Mistresses of Charles II (Wikitree), a chronologic listing of the king's lovers and their illegitimate descendants.