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| Leopold of Bourbon Prince of Salerno |
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| Clementine of Austria Princess of Salerno @Wikipedia |
of: Clementine von Osterreich (1798-1881), mar 1816
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Leopold of Bourbon Prince of Salerno |
His lover was:
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| Fanny Elssler @Wikipedia |
Fanny Elssler (1810-1884)
Austrian ballerina.
Lover in 1827.
Daughter of: Joseph Ludwig Ferdinand Elssler
Wife of Baron Victor Weber von Webenau
Natural offspring:
a. Franz (1827-1873).
Appearance, admirers, accomplishments.
"Fanny Elssler.---In 1822 I saw this beautiful person for the first time. She was originally one of the figurantes at the opera at Vienna, and was at this time about fourteen years of age, and of delicate and graceful proportions. Her hair was auburn, her eyes blue and large, and her face wore an expression of great tenderness. Some years after the Duke of Reichstadt, the son of the great Napoleon, was captivated with her beauty; in a word, he became her acknowledged admirer, while her marvellous acting and dancing drew around her all the great men of the German court. The following year she went to Naples, where a brother of the King fell desperately in love with her. Mademoiselle Elssler went soon afterwards to Paris, where her wit electrified all the fashionable world, and her dancing and acting in the Diable Boiteux made the fortune of the entrepreneur. In London her success was not so striking; but her cachucha will long be remembered, as one of the most exquisite exhibitions of female grace and power ever seen at her Majesty's Theatre, and in expressiveness, her pantomimic powers were unrivalled." (Reminiscences of Captain Gronow: 174)
Fanny's first royal "client".
"Count Prokesh, a friend of Fanny's next protector, described the Prince of Salerno as 'Fanny's first purchaser, who had her body without touching her soul.' Purchase of not, when the affair became common knowledge the King sent his brother to Rome, to join the Papal Guard of Honour (whether he considered the irony of his brother's new post history does not relate). Fanny was returned to Vienna pregnant, with 3000 ducats a year. She gave birth to her son Franz Robert in June 1827, the day after her 17th birthday. He was left with relatives, while she returned to work and the audiences who loved her from a distance." (The History Girls)
" . . . When Fanny was twelve she was taken into the corps de ballet of the Hoftheater, where Fillipo Taglioni was Ballet Master. In 1822 Fillipo was ready to debut his daughter Marie in a ballet designed especially for her . . . Fanny and her sister were in the corps de ballet. A short while later, Fanny left for Naples. Fanny and Marie would not meet again until 1833, when both dancers would dance at the King's Theatre in London. In Naples, Fanny was a great success and also became the mistress of Prince Leopold of Salerno. Their son was born when Fanny was 17 years old. This was kept secret, and Franz was placed in a foster home so that Fanny could continue her promising career. Fanny was a beautiful woman and made use of every charm she possessed." (Andros on Ballet)
"In Naples, when Fanny was 16, her dancing and her person particularly delighted Leopold, the Prince of Salerno, who was the King's brother and had a reputation as a practiced reprobate. Many years later Fanny told a friend in London, Harriet Grote, that the Prince had forced her mother to sell her to him, and that they were unable to resist his wealth and unscrupulous influence. Buying girls was not that unusual. Desperate or greedy mothers used to line their young daughters up on the steps of the palace of one old prince in Vienna, Alois Kaunitz-Rietberg. Children on the stage were especially vulnerable, and the Horschelt Kinderballett, a children's company to which Fanny may well have belonged, was closed down after that particular scandal." (The History Girls)
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| Fanny Elssler @Wikipedia |
Fanny Ellser's other lovers were:
1. Anton Stuhlmuller.
Lover in 1833
"While Therese and Fanny were dancing in Berlin, Fanny fell in love with Anton Stuhlmuller and bore him a daughter. Little Therese was raised by Harriet Grote, the wife of a member of the British Parliament." (Andros on Ballet)
"Fanny, however, had turned her attentions to dancer and fellow student Anton Stuhlmüller who was now premier danseur in Berlin, and she was soon pregnant again. In February 1833, she paid a visit to London, where she was taken in by George and Harriet Grote ; three months after her arrival, Fanny gave birth to a daughter Theresa. At a time when "ladies" did not associate with "theatricals," Harriet Grote, a historian and friend of Gentz's, ignored such prejudices and took in Fanny and her baby. George Grote was a banker and Member of Parliament. Except for 18 months in Paris with her mother, Theresa lived with the Grotes until she was nine." (Encyclopedia.com)
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| Charles, Marquis of La Valette |
Lover in 1837
"The Marquis de La Valette, who seemed to prefer dancers, having fathered children with Pauline Guichard and Pauline Duvernay , entered Elssler's life for a short while. . . ." (Encyclopedia.com)
" . . . Indeed, one such protector, the self-styled Marquis de La Valette, who became Fanny's lover in 1837, eventually destroyed the sororial menage. . . ." (Garafola, 2005: 143)
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| Friedrich von Gentz |
Lover in 1527?-1832
German publicist & statesman.
"Fanny then incurred the passion of the aged and brilliant statesman Friedrich von Gentz, councillor to Metternich. An intellectual, Gentz was determined to educate his paramour, perfecting her German and teaching her French; he also provided her with advantageous introductions to further her career. Elssler, still shy and unspoiled, was devoted to him. But when the Berlin Opera offered the sisters a contract in Autumn of 1830 and Gentz proposed, Elssler preferred to dance in the Prussian capital. Gentz died in June 1832; Fanny was at his bedside." (Encyclopedia.com)
"Among the audience in Vienna was Baron Friedrich von Gentz. He was the best-known political writer of his time, an adviser and friend to the Chancellor, Prince Metternich, handsome though worn by a naughty life, intelligent and 45 years older than Fanny. He sent her camellias and wondered if she had a soul; she cast him friendly looks from the stage. Fanny's mother approved the liaison, thinking it unlikely to produce any more children to interrupt Fanny's money-making, which was supporting the family. Fanny herself said that that she was flattered by von Gentz's attentions, grateful to him, fond of him and, she said, after him she could never put up with a stupid man. At the time, though, he 'never knew such bliss on earth' and she proposed kissing him 'so as to drink in your soul', so perhaps the fondness was with hindsight and discretion. Metternich warned von Gentz against the liaison - exhausted, some said, by such a romantic and improper connect." (The History Girls)
4) Henry Wikoff
American diplomat
Lover in 1839?-1842
" . . . From him, Elssler moved on to Henry Wikoff, an American diplomat who was a little too Philadelphia for Europe's taste. Wikoff arranged for Fanny to tour America, though Thérèse decided to forgo the chance to meet wild Indians. In March 1840, when Fanny sailed for New York, her retinue included Wikoff and her companion Kathi Prinster . Upon arrival, she was greeted by "Elssler mania," received at the White House, and enjoyed two years of unblemished success. Then the press began to question her private life with impresario Wikoff, especially after a long shared holiday from Louisiana to the Canadian border, but her fans could have cared less. In July 1842, with the tour over, along with her relationship with Wikoff, Elssler sailed for England." (Encyclopedia.com)
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| Carlo Ferdinando of the Two Sicilies |
Son of: Francesco I delle Due Sicilie & Maria Isabel de Espana.
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| Carlo di Borbone Prince of Capua & wife Penelope Smyth & daughter Vittoria di Borbone Contessa di Mascali |
Husband of: Penelope Smyth, Contessa di Mascali (1815-1882), mar 1836.
" . . . On the 5th April 1836, he married an Irish lady, Penelope Caroline, daughter of Grice Smyth, Esq., of Ballynatray, co. Waterford, (born July 19, 1815), which gave great offense to his brother, who banished him from the Court, and sequestered his appanage. The Prince has since lived an unsettled life, in France, England, Belgium, but more particularly in Malta, where he courted the acquaintance of the Italian malcontents, and made warm professions of Liberal opinions. Since the expulsion of his nephew Francis II from Naples, the Prince has resided much at Turin, being engaged in soliciting the restoration of his patrimony from King Victor Emmanuel and the Italian Parliament. He has left issue a son, Francesco, Count of Mascali, born March 24, 1857; and a daughter, Vittoria, born May 15, 1838)." (The Gentleman's Magazine: 780)
"During the winter of 1835 the Prince of Capua fell in love with Penelope Smyth, daughter of Grice Smyth of Ballynatray, Co. Waterford, Ireland, a beautiful Irish woman visiting Naples. Ferdinand II forbade their union as it would be a morganatic marriage. On 12 January 1836 the couple eloped. Ferdinand II forfeited his brother's income, denounced Charles' departure as illegal and tried to prevent the marriage." (Wikipedia)
" . . In his youth, the Prince of Capua displayed a restless behavior and a weakness for pretty women. . . ." (Wikipedia)
References.
Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance @Google Books
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