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| Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington @Wikipedia |
(1769-1852)
1st Duke of Wellington
1814-1852
Prime Minister of England
Lord High Constable of England
Son of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington & Anne Hill.
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| Kitty Pakenham @Daily Mail |
Husband of: Kitty Pakenham, mar 1806.
Wellington's physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . He had a robust frame with broad shoulders, strong chest, long arms and a height of 5 foot, 10 inches. He rode considerable distances, hunted into his seventies and walked in the parks and countryside, often with an elegant lady on his arm. His long-sighted eyes were a dark violet blue-grey colour and were often described as 'piercing'. He had long grave face in repose, with a not very high forehead, straight and prominent eyebrows, a long Roman nose (responsible for one nickname), a broad under jaw and a strongly marked chin. His hair was plentiful, curly and black in his youth, cropped short for his campaign, and went white as silver in his old age without a trace of baldness. He had a loud booming distinct laugh and was always quick to take or exchange a joke or anecdote." (Wellington the Beau: 4)
Flair for amitie amoureuse.
"The Duke in his relationship with women friends had a flair for amitie amoureuse - described by Margaret Lane in a recent book of essays as a 'romantic friendship in which there is implicit sexual attraction . . . exchange of confidences, a liking to be seen together, a sense of mutual support and appreciation . . . Such amitie has all the comforts of openness because there is nothing to conceal . . . It takes a special sort of man to be adept in this relationship.'" (The Duke of Wellington and Lady Shelley)
Mistresses vis-a-vis romantic lovers -- 1814.
" . . . He also met a whole host of beautiful young women, English, Irish, French and Italian. Some of them became his mistresses, some became his romantic lovers, but all of them remembered him with the greatest affection. Amongst them were the attractive Annesley sisters, Catherine, the younger girl, was about to marry Lord John Somerset, who was a brother of Fitzroy Somerset, Wellington's devoted ADC. The elder sister, Lady Frances Annesley, had recently married an obnoxious Hussar officer, James Wedderburn-Webster. Their father was Arthur, 1st Earl of Mountnorris who had married Sarah Cavendish. This Irish family was related to the Wesleys. "The young matron who could ride like a dream was to soon appear on the Duke's horizon. Lady Frances Shelley captivated the Duke and accompanied him on all his military reviews as his dashing unofficial ADC. A further significant meeting that year was with Harriet Fane, the younger second wife of Charles Arbuthnot, a great friend of Wellington's brother Henry Wellesley. She was twenty-six years younger than her husband." (Wellington the Beau)
Wellington the Beau: a ladies' man.
"He was known to be a man of strong sexual appetite, and his reputation of being 'a ladies' man' as well as a beau had returned with him from India. Indeed, he was already known to many as 'The Beau' and the nickname was commonly used for years thereafter. He was reputed to have had affairs with women, usually married women, of his own social class; but it was supposed that, by discretion as much as by taste, he was more inclined at this time to seek sexual pleasure in the arms of such professional coquettes as Harriette Wilson and the girls at Mrs. Porter's." (Wellington: A Personal History: 48)
A varied French contingent of beauties.
"Wellington soon acquired a varied French contingent of beautiful admirers. As usual there were a clutch of duchesses plus a princess, the most remarkable female intellectual in Europe, and two of Europe's most talented singers and actresses. . . ." (Wellington the Beau)
Penchant for beautiful young ladies.
"There is little doubt that Arthur Wellesley had a penchant for beautiful young ladies less than half his age; in particular the Richmond daughter, Georgiana Lennox, and the Annesley sisters. Georgiana was now nearly twenty, small in stature, well proportioned, regular features, beautiful hands and feet and a delicate and transparent complexion. She had first met him in 1806 on his return from India and for forty-six years she was known to the Duke as 'My dearest Georgie'."(Wellington the Beau)
Suspected vis-a-vis real lovers.
"The Duke, also called the Beau, was linked with some of the most famous women from Byron's life---Caroline Lamb and Frances Wedderburn-Webster, for example---and from Napoleon's circle---Countess Grassini and Pauline Bonaparte Borghese, his youngest, beautiful sister. Wellington and Byron both romanced, then taunted Caroline Lamb. Wellington could not resist telling Caroline that Michael Bruce, an officer she had romantically pursued in Paries, deserved to be hanged for treasonous behavior (Longford Pillar, p. 30). Women swarmed around the Duke, and many were suspected of being lovers. All still speculative, some seem more likely---Lady Charlotte Greville, Marianne Patterson---than others---Frances, Lady Shelley, Harriet Arbuthnot, and Frances Wedderburn-Webster. . . ." (Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte and Don Juan Canto VIII: 53)
The best of both worlds from his relationships.
"Looking back objectively on all Arthur Wellesley's relationships with a score or more of women, it is probable that he wanted, like most men, the best of all worlds. The carnal joys of Harriette Wilson, the intellectual stimulation of Madame de Stael, the political cut and thrust of Harriet Arbuthnot, the diplomatic intrigues of the Princess Lieven, the warm undemanding, platonic love of Lady Shelley, the spiritual challenge produced by Miss Anna Maria Jenkins and the passion that he enjoyed with Madame Grassini, Mrs. Patterson and several others." (Wellington the Beau)
Friends and lovers.
"Wellington had relationships with numerous women including the famous courtesan Harriette Wilson. He may have had an affair with Lady Charlotte Greville, but rumours of an affair with Lady Frances Webster were groundless. He also had many platonic friendships with women. He enjoyed the company of Lady Shelley, the young marchioness of Salisbury and his elder son’s wife, Lady Douro, and most especially, Mrs Arbuthnot. It was rumoured that Harriet Arbuthnot was his mistress, but this was not so and her husband went to live with the Duke after her death." (Regency History)
Three true loves of the Beau.
"The glamorous Caton sisters from Baltimore were soon to figure on the scene, along with their sister-in-law Mrs. Betsy Patterson, better known as Madame Patterson-Bonaparte. Mrs. Mary Anne Patterson, nee Caton, together with Lady Charlotte Greville and later Harriet Arbuthnot, were the three true loves of the Beau's long life." (Wellington the Beau)
Portraits of inamorata in his office or study.
"Throughout his life he kept portraits of his 'inamorata' in his office or study wherever that happened to be. In Apsley House a portrait of pretty Mrs. Freese once had the pride of place. In Paris Wellington kept portraits of Napoleon's ladies (now his ladies) on view: the singer La Grassini as well as a print of Pauline Borghese (Napoleon;s youngest and most beautiful sister), with ironically the Pope in the centre, presumably keeping the peace. Portraits of the American Mrs. Patterson and the lovely Lady Charlotte Greville were also to be seen by those privileged to penetrate into the Duke's private sanctuary at Stratfeld Saye -- but price of place was later given to Harriet Fane, Mrs. Arbuthnot, with whom the Duke had his longest and most steadfast relationship of all. It is clear that the Wellesley family marital relationships were usually, if not always, disastrous!" (Wellington the Beau: 5)
The Victor on the battlefield and in the bedroom
". . . It was by no means the most prized Napoleonic booty which this 'perfect embodiment of the gentlemanly ideal' took possession. As it to proved that he could out-score Napoleon in the bedroom as well on the battlefield, he seduced two of his mistresses [Giuseppina Grassini and Marguerite Weimer, Mademoiselle George]" (Best of Enemies:154)
Triple tryst.
"The Duke saw a good deal, too, of Talleyrand's niece by marriage, Dorothea, Countess of Perigord, later Duchess of Dino, also of Marshal Ney's pretty wife, Aglae Ney, the daughter of a chambermaid, and, on far more occasions that with either of these, of Giuseppina Grassini, the opera singer from La Scala who had followed Napoleon's soldiers out of Italy and, as 'La Chanteuse de l'Empereur', had become one of the Emperor's mistresses. It was widely supposed in Paris that she became Wellington's mistress, too. Certainly he kept a portrait of her in his room; but then he kept pictures of Pauline Borghese and Pope Pius VII as well. . . ." (Wellington: A Personal History: 162)
The Duke of Wellington's lovers were:
1) Caroline Ponsonby, Lady Lamb (1785-1828)
Lover in 1815.
British aristocrat & writer.
Daughter of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough & Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, sister of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
Wife of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Prime Minister Lord Melbourne mar 1805.
" . . . In Europe she had other lovers, including a one night stand with the Duke of Wellington himself during the fall of 1815." (Lamb, Caroline)
"Later, Caroline traveled with her husband to Paris and Brussels where she humiliated him again, pursuing various army officers. Her most famous conquest was the duke of Wellington. . . . " (Lady Caroline Lamb Facts & Information)
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| Charlotte Greville |
2) Charlotte Cavendish-Bentinck (1775-1862)
Lady Greville
Lover before 1814.
Daughter of: William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland & Lady Dorothy Cavendish.
Wife of: Captain Charles Greville (1762-1832), mar 1793, son of Fulke Greville & Frances Macartney.
"The Greville family were rather more complicated. Colonel Charles Greville and his wife Lady Charlotte had been friendly with Kitty at Tunbridge Wells. They had three young children including two sons: Charles, who became a very celebrated diarist; and Algernon, who became in later years Wellington's confidential secretary. 'La Coquette Gentille' or 'the Chrysolite' were nicknames for the delectable Lady Charlotte, the eldest daughter of the 3rd Duke of Portland. She was also, for a number of years, Wellington's mistress."(Wellington the Beau)
"He was particularly attracted to Lady Charlotte Greville, the Duke of Portland's daughter and the diarist's mother, who came to stay on her own, leaving her husband and children behind in Brussels, and who was soon known to be having a passionate affair with him. This affair came to an end when Lady Charlotte's husband heard of it and protested strongly. . . ." (Wellington: A Personal History: 209)
First encounter in 1805.
1793 she married an undistinguished young man called Charles Greville (1762-1832) who was the grandson of the 5th Lord Warwick. . . Charlotte was a woman of outstanding beauty and was the mother of three sons and a daughter. She was also the Duke of Wellington's mistress for many years. . . Arthur had met Lady Charlotte in London when he returned from India after 1805. It is clear there were lovers before Waterloo. . . . " (Wellington the Beau)
3) Charlotte Maria Cox, Lady Greville (1802-1841)
Daughter of: Richard Henry Cox, Esq
Wife of: Algernon Greville (1798-1864), English soldier & cricketer; Private secretary to Duke of Wellington, mar 1823.
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| Dorothea von Benckendorff Princesse Lieven 1825 |
4) Dorothea von Benckendorff, Princesse Lieven (1785-1857)
Livonian aristocrat.
Daughter of Christopher von Benckendorff & Juliane Schilling von Canstatt.
Wife of Christoph Heinrich von Lieven (1774-1839), Prince von Lieven 1826, Russian ambassador to London, 1812-1834.
5) Frances Wedderburn-Webster (1793-1837)
Lover in 1815 (rumour)
Daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Mountnorris and Sarah Cavendish
Wife of James Wedderburn Webster
" . . . Harriet Arbuthnot, a steadfast friend and political confidante, was the wife of the Duke's exceedingly close friend Charles Arbuthnot. When an anonymous letter to Charles threatened to publicly accuse her of having an affair with the Duke, she talked with her husband and Castlereagh, another close friend, about what to do; her relationship with Wellington has hardly one that required secrecy. The friendship with the Duke, which she charts in great detail in her journal, sounds intellectually and emotionally stimulating, but purely Platonic. Her camaraderie with the Duke makes her one of the more reliable sources of information on this private man. She records among her journal pages that Lady Charlotte Greville was 'supposed to have conquered the Conqueror of France' and 'At the time of the battle [of Waterloo], Lady Frances Webster was the regnante." (Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte and Don Juan Canto VIII: 53)
A tryst among the trees "Lady Charlotte Greville, known by most as the Duke's First Lady, reveled in her intimacy with him during this period. Yet she did have to share his affections with the beautiful and highly strung Frances Wedderburn-Webster. Frances was already well known due to the rumoured affair she had had with her husband's close friend, Lord Byron. The Duke's affair with her quickly became notorious and was mentioned in papers both in Brussels and in London. One staff officer recalled seeing Wellington in the park in Brussels when 'a carriage drove up and a lady got out of it and joined him. They went down into a hollow where the trees completely screened them.' This was Frances and after a moment her mother, Lady Mountnorris, also turned up 'searching in vain for her daughter.' Luckily for the lovers, trees successfully hid them from view. What is even more surprising is that Frances was seven months pregnant at the time. Frances's husband was also a notorious adulterer but he now decided to sue one newspaper for printing details of the affair between his wife and the Duke of Wellington. For this the Wedderburn-Websters were awarded damages to the tune of 2,000 pounds, a very large amount for the time. Later on, after the affair with Wellington had ended, Frances continued to receive a pension from him until her death in 1837. . . ." (Wellington's Dearest Georgy: The Life and loves of Lady Georgiana Lennox)
No evidence of affair.
"The prettiest of the two blonde daughters of Arthur Annesley, first Earl of Mountnorris and Sarah Cavendish. She married Lord Byron's friend James Wedderburn Webster. . . His [Byron's] poem 'When we two parted' is about her and her alleged relationship with the Duke of Wellington in Brussels in 1815. He wrote this after he had heard that she wanted to go after Wellington. The newspapers wrote that Lady Frances and the Duke saw each other, but there is no evidence they were lovers." (Webster Wedderburn, Frances)
Only a mild flirtation.
" . . . The tales of some tabby (an elderly maiden lady, fond of gossip) might concern what one of Wellington's biographers called a 'mild flirtation' with Lady Frances Wedderburn Webster in Paris. The relationship was well enough known to draw newspaper comment. Webster and Wellington sued the editor of the Morning Chronicle for libel and were awarded 2,000 pounds in damages. . . ." (Don Juan)
6) Frances Winckley, Lady Shelley (1787-1973)
First encounter.
"Lady Shelley first met the Duke of Wellington in July 1814. It is from this time that her journals take on a special interest for she had a gift for recording vivid impressions of people and places. At the time of their first introduction, Wellington was the national hero whose brilliant Peninsular Campaign had led to Napoleon's abdication and retirement to Elba." (The Duke of Wellington and Lady Shelley)
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| Giuseppina Grassini c1805 @Wikipedia |
"The following year [1814] Grassini became one of Wellington's Parisian mistresses, as far as it is possible to be certain about things in an era before telephoto lenses and DNA-testing. The Comtesse de Boigne, Charles Greville, Madame de Stael, Lady Bessborough and Lady Shelley all took it for granted that Grassini was Wellington's mistress in Paris, as have most post-Victorian historians, and given his incomprehensible and unhappy marriage to Kitty Pakenham it does seem very likely. At forty-one, Grassini was not the luscious twenty-seven-year-old Napoleon had first enjoyed at Milan, but she was by all contemporary accounts still tremendously attractive, personally and sexually." (Napoleon and Wellington: 128)
". . . Wellington inherited Napoleon's mistress 'La Chantreuse de l'Empereur'. Madame Giuseppina Grassini must have been a very satisfactory conquest. Besides her voluptuous charms, her contralto voice and knowledge of fine music endeared her to Wellington in the heady days in Paris during 1814 and 1815. . . . " (Wellington the Beau)
A tightwad but more effective lover.
" . . . Wellington would seem to have been decidedly more tightfisted, his allowance to Grassini for December 1815 being a mere 529 francs and 64 centimes, but justifying his sobriquet as the Iron Duke, he was reckoned to he the more effective lover. . . . " (Best of Enemies: 154)
"Grassini stated that ce cher Villainton, as she called him, did not need to be asked twice, as Napoleon had, but also that he was meaner with his money than Napoleon had been with France's. Her bills at Leroy, the court modiste, dressmaker and milliner where Wellington paid off her accounts, show how drastically she had to cut back under the new regime. In December 1815 they came to only 529 francs and 64 centimes. (Equally, she might have been gratified to learn tht the same month the Duchess of Wellington's account there came to a mere 380 francs.)" (Napoleon and Wellington: 128)
". . . Wellington inherited Napoleon's mistress 'La Chantreuse de l'Empereur'. Madame Giuseppina Grassini must have been a very satisfactory conquest. Besides her voluptuous charms, her contralto voice and knowledge of fine music endeared her to Wellington in the heady days in Paris during 1814 and 1815. . . . " (Wellington the Beau)
A tightwad but more effective lover.
" . . . Wellington would seem to have been decidedly more tightfisted, his allowance to Grassini for December 1815 being a mere 529 francs and 64 centimes, but justifying his sobriquet as the Iron Duke, he was reckoned to he the more effective lover. . . . " (Best of Enemies: 154)
"Grassini stated that ce cher Villainton, as she called him, did not need to be asked twice, as Napoleon had, but also that he was meaner with his money than Napoleon had been with France's. Her bills at Leroy, the court modiste, dressmaker and milliner where Wellington paid off her accounts, show how drastically she had to cut back under the new regime. In December 1815 they came to only 529 francs and 64 centimes. (Equally, she might have been gratified to learn tht the same month the Duchess of Wellington's account there came to a mere 380 francs.)" (Napoleon and Wellington: 128)
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| Harriet Fane |
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| Harriette Wilson |
9) Harriette Wilson.
Lover in 1808.
"Given this, it seems that Wellesley began his affair with Harriette Wilson, a successful courtesan, in the early months of 1808. Her account (published in 1824) is useless for dates -- indeed, she lost a libel action by misdating an affair of her sister by a decade -- while many years later he told Mrs. Arbuthnot that the liaison occurred before his marriage. However, the evidence from that period makes this most unlikely, and although it is possible;e that the affair began in late 1806 or early 1807, this raises other problems. Unfortunately these doubts about the evidence pervade the whole question of the affair (even the story of Wellesley's retort 'publish and be damned' proves to be apocryphal). Other than Wellesley's brief confirmation to Mrs. Arbuthnot that he had indeed known Harriette Wilson, we have only the single source of Wilson's own memoirs, which were written with one eye on entertaining the public and the other on extracting money from her former lovers through blackmail. . . ." (Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814: 290)
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| Juliette Bernard |
10) Juliette Bernard.
Madame Recamier.
"It was at Mme. de Stael's that Mme. Recamier first met the Duke of Wellington. . . ." (Memoirs & Correspondence of Madame Récamier: 105)
"It was at Mme. de Stael's that Mme. Recamier first met the Duke of Wellington. . . ." (Memoirs & Correspondence of Madame Récamier: 105)
11) Marguerite-Josephine Weimer (1787-1867)
Lover in 1814.
French stage actress.
"He also saw much of another of Napoleon's former mistresses, the tragedienne Josephine Weimer, a big, buxom, sensuous woman whom the Emperor had considered the best actress in Paris where she performed under the name of Mademoiselle Georges. He had invited her to come to St Cloud after seeing her give a splendid performance as Clytemnestra. She had obeyed the summons, had stayed the night and had later received a present of 40,000 francs which Napoleon had stuffed between her breasts. He presented her with a special kind of garter made of elastic which he found easier to undo than the usual kind of garter with a buckle. She made no secret of her affair with Napoleon, and liked it to be known that she had afterwards been the mistress of Wellington who, she declared, was 'de beaucoup le plus fort'." (Hibbert: 162).
" . . . Although he was married and is believed to have had several lovers, he maintained that 'no woman ever loved me; never in my whole life'. One of his lovers is said to have been the French actress Mlle George, who also slept with Napoleon. When asked to compare the two, she reputedly replied, 'The Duke was by far the more vigorous.'." (Wakkipedia)
"After spending some time in Russia between 1808 and 1812 . . . George returned to Pars. It was there that she met Wellington after Napoleon's abdication and, still aged only twenty-seven, is thought to have had an affair with him. The Radical politician and friend of Byron John Cam Hobhouse records her in April 1814 as being 'very large but with a fine face and strong lines with expressive action, so as now and then to remind me of Mrs. Siddons'. Wellington's affair with her is not so well documented as that with Grassini, but it is generally accepted to have taken place." (Napoleon and Wellington: 130)
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| Marianne Patterson @Wikipedia |
12) Marianne Patterson (1788 -1853).
Lover in 1817?.
Lady of the Bedchamber to Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom, 1830-1837
Wife of:
1. Robert Patterson (d. 1822)
2. Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellesley, mar 1825
[" . . . Prior to their marriage, they may already have been lovers. The marquess was short of money and Marianne's inheritance may have been part of the reason for his proposal. Her family disapproved of the marriage because of Wellesley's reputation and his several children by his first wife, Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland." (Wikipedia)]
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| The Three Graces @WikiTree |
Marianne's personal & family background.
" . . . Marianne Caton was the eldest of four 'belles' from Baltimore -- the granddaughters of the last surviving signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Marianne was renowned in her home town for her looks and her accomplishments. At the age of nineteen she chose from her many suitors the eldest son of the richest merchant in America, a Robert Paterson, whose sister Betsy happened to be the first wife of Jerome Bonaparte, sometime King of Westphalia and brother to the Emperor. Soon after becoming Mrs. Paterson, Marianne sailed to Europe with her seemingly 'boorish' husband, two unmarried sisters and, perhaps most important of all, letters of introduction into the highest echelons of British society. Before long she had met, and according to contemporary accounts, conquered the victor of Waterloo; soon her fame spread round the drawing rooms of Paris and London. When she was formally presented to the Prince Regent, he exclaimed, 'Is it possible that the world can produce so beautiful a woman!' . . . ." (Wellington: A Journey Through My Family)
First encounter: Arthur struck by Marianne's beauty.
" . . . Marianne, born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1788, was the eldest of four sisters, and with two of her sisters -- Elizabeth (Bess) and Louisa -- came to England in the early summer of 1816 accompanied by Marianne's husband Robert Patterson. The sisters were instantly the toast of London society and were courted by the Duke of Wellington who was struck by Marianne's beauty. x x x A year later they travelled to Paris as the guests of the duke and it was widely believed that Marianne Patterson and the Duke of Wellington were carrying on an 'intrigue' and were in fact lovers. No evidence remains to prove this but they were certainly enamoured of one another, great friends and particularly intimate indeed. The Marquess Wellesley was infuriated by hi younger brother's good fortune, for he also had his eye on the beautiful Mrs. Patterson and he was widowed and free to marry. To escape the gossip, and at the instigation of her husband, Marianned returned to Baltimore." (A Right Royal Scandal: Two Marriages That Changed History)
Marianne a part of the Duke's feminine train.
"Three beautiful Americans, the Misses Caton and their sister a certain Mrs. Mary Anne Patterson also formed part of the Duke's feminine train and with the last named he appears to have had a tolerably serious love affair; when it had run its course, they remained the best of friends. Richard Caton, their father, was a prominent citizen of Baltimore." (Wellington the Beau)
Love and spite.
"Known variously throughout her life as Miss Mary Anne Caton, Mrs. Robert Paterson and finally, Lady Marianne Wellesley, Marchioness Wellesley. The granddaughter of one of the original signatories of the Declaration of Independence. . . Mary Anne Caton . . . was married first to a wealthy Baltimore merchant. When her husband died in 1822, she moved to England where, in 1825 she married the Irish Marquess Wellesley who was at that time Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. However, what makes her tale a little sordid is the fact that Marianne (anglicized after her second marriage) had carried on a ten year long affair with her second husband's younger brother (who was married) while still married to her first husband. When her first husband died, she expected her lover to leave his wife and when he did not, she married his brother out of retaliation." (An American Woman)
Picture Gallery of the Duke of Wellington.
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| Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington @WikiArt |
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| Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington |
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| Augustus Henry Fitzroy 3rd Duke of Grafton |
Prime Minister of Great Britain 1768-1770; Lord Chamberlain to George I & George II; MP for Bury St. Edmunds; Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales.
Son of: Lord Augustus FitzRoy, Captain, Royal Navy, son of 2nd Duke of Grafton & Elizabeth Cosby, daughter of Colonel William Cosby.
Husband of:
1. Hon. Anne Liddell, daughter of 1st Baron Ravensworth, mar 1756, div 1769
2. Elizabeth Wrottesley, daughter of Rev. Sir Richard Wrottesley, Dean of Windsor, mar 1769.
His lover was:
Son of: Lord Augustus FitzRoy, Captain, Royal Navy, son of 2nd Duke of Grafton & Elizabeth Cosby, daughter of Colonel William Cosby.
Husband of:
1. Hon. Anne Liddell, daughter of 1st Baron Ravensworth, mar 1756, div 1769
2. Elizabeth Wrottesley, daughter of Rev. Sir Richard Wrottesley, Dean of Windsor, mar 1769.
His lover was:
Nancy Parsons, Viscountess Maynard.
Lover in 1763-1777.
The beginning of an affair.
"Sometime around 1763 the Duke met Nancy Parsons, a courtesan of beauty and wit, who became his mistress for four years, and that relationship, which the Duke was considered to have flaunted in society, was one of points upon which he was skewered in public letters by Junius. . . ." (TB Heritage)
A profligate by profession for a lover.
"The most famous scandal of the day connected the name of his Grace, Augustus Henry, third Duke of Grafton with Nancy Parsons, described by Horace Walpole as 'one of the commonest creatures in London, once much liked, but out of date.' The said Nancy, beloved by a duke, was the daughter of a Bond Street tailor, and had in early life giver her too susceptible heart to a West Indian merchant, with whom she had gone to Jamaica; but, growing tired of that country and of her lover, she escaped from both by stratagem, returned to London, and hired rooms at a perfumer's in Brewer Street, where she met his gallant Grace of Grafton, who in a little while became so enamoured of her that he was wiling to make any sacrifice for her sake. The duke was not only 'a profligate by profession,' as Junius described him, but he was likewise First Lord of the Treasury under a sovereign who prided himself on his remarkable virtue. All the time he could spare from his official duties was devoted to this lovely Nancy; he drove her in the full glare of publicity to Ascot races, sat beside and made love to her at the opera-house in presence of his wife and Their Sacred Majesties, and placed her at the head of his table to entertain guests." (Court Life Below Stairs, Vol 3: 333)
Effects on lovers' family, other people & society.
" . . . The Duchess removed herself from the Duke's houses, where her usurper reigned at table, taking her daughter Georgina, with her, but leaving her son and the future 4th Duke, age 9, with his father. Later, while still married to the Duke, the Duchess became pregnant by Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, precipitating a divorce from Grafton, and almost immediate subsequent marriage to the Earl, which by most accounts was a much happier one." (TB Heritage)
The end of an affair & aftermath.
"For his part, after his first marriage was terminated, also ended his liaison with the lovely Parsons, and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, a young woman related to the Duke of Bedford, an uncertain political ally of Grafton; his new wife was content to focus on family and bore the Duke twelve more children." (TB Heritage)
" . . . In 1769 Grafton was succeeded in her affections by John Frederick Sackville, third Duke of Dorset. . . ." (British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875: 76)
" . . . In 1769 Grafton was succeeded in her affections by John Frederick Sackville, third Duke of Dorset. . . ." (British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875: 76)
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| Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk @Wikipedia |
(1484-1545)
Duke of Suffolk
1514
Son of Sir William Brandon, Henry VII's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth Field, & Elizabeth Bruyn.
Husband of:
1. Margaret Neville, mar 1507
2. Anne Browne, mar 1508
3. Mary Tudor, Queen of France, mar 1515-1533
4. Catherine Willoughby, mar 1533
Complex marital history.
"If greater involvement in government was one means for Brandon to advance yet further, another beckoned, more rapid and spectacular: an advantageous marriage. His marital history was already extremely complex, and demonstrated an asset stripping opportunism which even contemporaries found rather shocking. At court in 1503 or so he confessed to Walter Devereaux that he was 'in love and resorted muche to the company of . . . Anne Browne'. She was a gentlewoman to the queen and daughter to Sir Anthony Browned of Calais. Charles and Anne contracted to marry, before the council of his patron, the earl of Essex, and she became pregnant. Brandon then abandoned her to marry her aunt, Dame Margaret Mortimer, and shortly afterwards Anne gave bith to Brandon's first daughter, Anne, the future Lady Powis. So it was later claimed ny those who argued that Lady Powis was illegitimae; Lady Powis's friends conveniently recalled that Anne Browne had miscarried with shock at her betrayal by Brandon, and that Lady Powis was born several years later. Mortimer was some twenty years older than Brandon, but her share in the Montague inheritance won the heart of the penurious young courtier, at least for a time. On 7 February 1507 he had licence of entry on Dame Margaret's lands, and in August he sold her manor of Okeford, Devon, for 260 pounds, using another of her manors as security for his side of the bargain. Shortly afterwards he had this marriage invalidated on grounds of consanguinity, not only between Anne and Margaret but also between his grandmother and Margaret's first husband." (Charles Brandon: Henry VIII's Closest Friend)
A complicated marital history.
"Close to the king since their shared childhood, Brandon's track record with women had been little less than scandalous, played out before the eyes of the young Henry. In his early twenties, Brandon had fathered a child outside wedlock with Anne Browne, to whom he was betrothed. Hoever, he deserted Ann in order to marry her aunt, Margaret Neville, the niece of Warwick the "Kingmaker', cousin of Henry's Yorkist grandfather. The new bride was almost twenty years older than the young groom and Anne's advancing pregnancy cause her family to take action. Later than year, the match was declared void in the archdeacon;s court and soon afterwards, early in 1508, Brandon married Anne Browne, who went on to bear him a second child, before dying in 1511 x x x The opportunistic widower then entered another betrothal, to Elizabeth Grey, another lady who appears in the records of courtly entertainments, but extricated himself around this time while seeking a more highborn bride and engaging in flirtation with more of Catherine's waiting women. His marital history would become even more complicated in the coming years." (The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories: xci)
"In addition to wives, Brandon had a notorious mistress, who bore him several children, one of whom, Sir Charles Brandon, had a son who was a celebrated jeweller in the reign of Elizabeth, and who, some say, was the father of that Richard Brandon who is alleged to have beheaded Charles I. These scandals and many others, of which we know little or nothing, though some are hinted at in the correspondence of the various ambassadors, no doubt affected the happiness of the queen-duchess, and account for the infrequency of her visits to London and her rare appearance at court functions." (The Sisters of Lady Jane Grey and Their Wicked Grandfather: 65)
"Among Henry VIII's officers was Sir Charles Brandon, one of the handsomest men of his time, and a great favourite with the English king, who, in May 1513, had been created Viscount Lisle. The new Lord Lisle had accompanied his master to the war in France being marshal of the host and captain of the foreward with 1000 men under him. Hall, in his Chronicle, gives the following interesting account of the meeting of Margaret and Charles Brandon---'Monday, the 11th day of October, the king without the town received the Prince of Castile, the Lady Margaret and divers other nobles of their countries, and them brought into Tournay with great th noise and triumph. The noise went that the Lord Lisle made request of marriage to the Lady Margaret, Duchess of Savoy, and daughter of the Emperor Maximilian which before that time was departed from the king with many rich gifts and money borrowed, but, whether he proffered marriage or not, she favoured him highly. There the prince and duchess sojourned with great solace by the space of ten days. . . ." (The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria)
" . . . She was daughter and heiress of a baron of the ancient line of Willoughby de Eresby. She was a duchess when there were only two dukes in England, She filled the place in her husband's house left vacant by the death of a queen dowager of France. She became the stepmother of a family into which there were more than once seemed a great chance that the English crown would pass. Then, in the prime of a blameless life, she was left homeless and almost penniless, an outcast driven from the doors of the poorest inns as a woman who would pollute them, and forced in wintry rain and wind to seek a resting-place for the night in an open porch like a common tramp.
"Lady Katherine Willoughby was very young when her father died in 1525. Her mother was a Spanish lady, a faithful friend of Queen Katherine of Aragon, after whom Lady Katherine was probably named. On her father's death she became a royal ward, and in 1529 Henry assigned her guardianship to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. The duke had to pay a substantial sum for the grant made to him, and he could afford to do so, for his cares as guardian were lightened by his right to receive for his own benefit the income of the young lady's estates in Lincolnshire and elsewhere. The new guardian was an intimate friend and associate of the king, with whom he shared many tastes and opinions. In particular he had something of his sovereign's liking for variety in wives, ingenuity in finding reasons for changing them, and dislike to a prolonged vacancy in the office. Although still a young man he had already had two wives when he was sent by the king early in 1515 on a mission to Paris. Mary, the king's younger sister, had been married in the preceding October to the late French king Louis XII. She was seventeen, he was fifty-three. She was lively as she became her years, he was a feeble invalid. With the resolution of a Tudor she insisted on a revolution in his household arrangements. A fresh hour was appointed for dinner; in fact, the king was made to dine as late as noon. He had previously been accustomed to dine at eight in the morning, and the change, together with a general increase of gaiety at court, proved fatal to the poor king. In less than three months Mary was a widow and queen dowager. The lawyers were soon at work, and the Duke of Suffolk came over to make arrangements about her jewels and dower. In his conferences with the young queen he did not confine himself exclusively to matters of business, but touched on tenderer topics with such effect that within a few weeks after Louis' death the young widow became the duke's third wife. She was still living when he became Lady Katherine's guardian, but lived only four years longer. She died on the 23rd of June, 1533.
" (The Living Age, Vol 187: 359)
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| Charles Powlett 3rd Duke of Bolton |
British nobleman & politician.
His lovers were:
1) Kitty Fisher.
_by_Charles_Jervas.jpg/220px-Lavinia_Fenton%2C_later_Duchess_of_Bolton_(1710-1760)_by_Charles_Jervas.jpg) |
| Lavinia Fenton |
2) Lavinia Fenton.
" . . Fenton became the mistress of Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton and married to Anne, Lady Vaughan, shortly after he had seen her play Polly Peachum in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728), at Lincoln's Inn Fields. they, and their three illegitimate children, made annual visits to Bath where, noted the author and bluestocking Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800), the duke was very open about his liaison with 'Mrs. Beswick'. . . ." (Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray: xxii)
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| Charles Talbot 1st Duke of Shrewsbury |
1) Elizabeth Howard, Lady Felton.
2) Mary Mordaunt, Countess of Arundel.
2) Mary Mordaunt, Countess of Arundel.
" . . . Charles Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, a Roman Catholic who turned Protestant in 1681, was said to be Lady Arundel's lover. . . ." (Wilson: 40)
"Charles Talbot, twelfth Earl of Shrewsbury (1660-1718), Anna-Maria's first son by her first husband, was brought up in the Catholic faith in France and came to England in April, 1678. A handsome young man in spite of the loss of an eye (c.1680), he was successful as a lover (although reputedly bisexual), and seems to have been a bone of contention between Lady Betty Felton and Mary, Countess of Arundel. In 1681 he became a Protestant and entered politics, holding many important posts under William and Mary and Queen Anne. On April 30, 1694 he was created Duke of Shrewsbury. . . ." (Court Satires of the Restoration: 286)
Charles Talbot's spouses & children.
"Charles Talbot, twelfth Earl of Shrewsbury (1660-1718), Anna-Maria's first son by her first husband, was brought up in the Catholic faith in France and came to England in April, 1678. A handsome young man in spite of the loss of an eye (c.1680), he was successful as a lover (although reputedly bisexual), and seems to have been a bone of contention between Lady Betty Felton and Mary, Countess of Arundel. In 1681 he became a Protestant and entered politics, holding many important posts under William and Mary and Queen Anne. On April 30, 1694 he was created Duke of Shrewsbury. . . ." (Court Satires of the Restoration: 286)
Charles Talbot's spouses & children.
" . . . On September 9, 1705, he married an Italian widow, Adelaide, daughter of the Marquis Paleotti of Bologna. . . . " (Court Satires of the Restoration: 286)
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| Francis Russell 5th Duke of Bedford |
Nancy Parsons.
" . . . In 1784 Lady Maynard became interested in the nineteen-year-old Francis Russell, fifth Duke of Bedford, and she and her husband spent the winter of 1785-1786 with him in Nice. In the 1790s the unlikely couple finally drifted apart. . . ." (British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875: 76)
"Nancy Parsons' romance, however, was not at an end; the late intrigue had rendered her fashionable, and she had now many ardent admirers in her train. Having a natural taste for high life, she was resolved not to receive a lover of lower rank than his whose delight it was to honour her; her choice therefore fell on the Duke of Dorset, who, it was whispered, had thoughts of marrying her; but perhaps dukes are more fickle that other peers---at all events, the fair Nancy, whose charms were by this time on the wane, was once more deserted by the man of her choice. . . ." (Court Life Below Stairs, Vol 3: 336)
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| George Monck 1st Duke of Albermarle |
(1608-1670)
Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.
"In Drury Lane lived Anne Clarges, who became the mistress, and afterwards the wife, of the celebrated George Monk, Duke of Albemarle. 'Monk, 'says Lord Clarendon, in his 'History of the Rebellion,' 'was cursed, after a long familiarity, to marry a woman of the lowest extraction, the least w'it, and less beauty.' Clarendon afterwards speaks of her as a 'woman with nothing feminine about her but her make;' and Burnet styles as a 'ravenous, mean, and contemptible creature, who thought of nothing but getting and spending.' She was the daughter of a blacksmith, who lived in Drury Lane, and was bred a milliner. 'When Monk was a prisoner in the Tower,' says Aubrey, 'his sempstress, Anne Clarges, a blacksmith's daughter, was kind to him in a double capacity. It must be remembered that he was then in want, and that she assisted him. Here she was got with child. She was not at all handsome, nor cleanly. Her mother was one of the five women-barbers, and a woman of ill-fame. A ballad was made on her and the other four; the burden of it was---Did you ever hear the like, Or ever hear the fame, Of five women barbers, Who lived in Drury Lane.'" (Literary and Historical Memorials of London, Vol 2: 69)
"Monk was fond of low company; both he and his vulgar wife were quite unfit for high -- I cannot say refined -- society, for there was but little refinement at court. Ann Clarges had been kind of Monk when he was a prisoner in the Tower, and he married her out of gratitude. She had been previously married to Thomas Ratford, of whose death no notice was given at the time of the marriage, so that the legitimacy of Christopher, afterwards second Duke of Albemarle, was seriously questioned. Aubrey relatives a story which cannot well be true, but which proves the general feeling of doubt respecting the point. He says that Thomas Clarges came on shipboard to tell Monk that his sister had had a child. Monk cried out, 'What is it?' and on hearing the answer, 'A boy,' he said, 'When then, she is my wife.'" (Pepys Diary)
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| @NPG |
His lover was:
Anne Clarges (1619-1700)
Lover in 1647.
Duchess of Albemarle
British seamstress
Lover in 1647.
Duchess of Albemarle
British seamstress
Daughter of: John Clarges & Anne Leaver.
Wife of:
1. Thomas Radford, mar 1632/33
2. George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, mar 1652/53.
" . . . It is claimed that Anne was still married to her first husband, still living, when she married Sir George. . . ." (The Peerage)
" . . . About 1647 Mistress Ratford was herself acting as sempstress to Colonel Monk; she need to carry him his linen to his military quarters, and, as it is alleged, 'had great control and authority over him.' It is even said that when Monk was in 'durance vile,' in the Tower of London, she was kind to him in more than one capacity. It must be remembered that he was then in want, and that she assisted him; and when afterwards she became his wife, he had so high an opinion of her understanding that he often consulted her in important matters. . . ." (British Isle Genealogy)
" . . . About 1647 Mistress Ratford was herself acting as sempstress to Colonel Monk; she need to carry him his linen to his military quarters, and, as it is alleged, 'had great control and authority over him.' It is even said that when Monk was in 'durance vile,' in the Tower of London, she was kind to him in more than one capacity. It must be remembered that he was then in want, and that she assisted him; and when afterwards she became his wife, he had so high an opinion of her understanding that he often consulted her in important matters. . . ." (British Isle Genealogy)
"Pepys described her on 8 March 1661 as 'ever a plain homely dowdy." (The Peerage)
"Life in the Tower was not all endless frustration for George Monck, however, According to the garrulous antiquary John Aubrey, Monck found, if not true love, then a lifelong partner in the fortress. His laundry, darning and sewing were attended to by a seamstress called Anne -- or 'Nan' -- Clarges, the twenty-five-year-old daughter of a blacksmith who lived and worked on the corner of London's Drury Lane and the Strand. Her father, John Clarges, had shod the horses of Monck's regiment. Nan had had a rough, tough city upbringing. . . ." (Jones: 401)
Anne Clarges's personal & family background.
" . . . The daughter of a black-smith and farrier in the Savoy, John Clarges by name, was fortunate enough in her matrimonial career to secure for her husband a no less celebrated person than General Monk, the Duke of Albemarle. To John Clarges is attributed the setting up of the May pole in the Strand, at the time of the Restoration, upon its former site. Clarges was farrier to Duke, then plain Colonel Monk. He lived over his forge at the junction of the Strand and Drury Lane, near the spot where the historic 'Maypole' was set up. He gave his daughter an education suited to the employment to which she was brought up, namely, that of a milliner. As the manners of young people are generally formed in early life, Anne -- or she was, usually called 'Nan -- Clarges retained something of the blacksmith's daughter about her even after her elevation to a coronet with strawberry leaves." (British Isle Genealogy)
"Anne Clarges was the daughter of a farrier in the Strand named John Clarges and made her living selling perfume and wash balls, as well through occasional employment as a seamstress at the Tower of London. It was at the Tower of London that she made the acquaintance of one George Monck, whilest he was suffering a term of imprisonment there in 1646." (everything2)
"Anne Clarges was the daughter of a farrier in the Strand named John Clarges and made her living selling perfume and wash balls, as well through occasional employment as a seamstress at the Tower of London. It was at the Tower of London that she made the acquaintance of one George Monck, whilest he was suffering a term of imprisonment there in 1646." (everything2)
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| George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 3rd Duke of Sutherland @Wikipedia |
Wife of:
1. Anne Hay-Mackenzie, Countess of Cromartie 1849 (1829–1888)
2. Mary Caroline Blair, mar 1889.
His lover was:
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| Mary Caroline Duchess of Sutherland @Wikipedia |
Daughter of Rev. Richard Michell & Amelia Blair.
Wife of:
1. Arthur Kindersley Blair, Captain in 71st Highland Light Infantry, mar 1872.
2. George, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, mar 1889
3. Sir Albert Kaye Rollit, an MP, mar 1896.
"Whatever the truth behind her husband’s death, it was not long before Mary was quite openly the mistress of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland. The Duke’s wife, Anne, Duchess of Sutherland and Countess of Cromartie was still living but relations between the two had been strained for some time. The intrusion of this new woman into the marriage was a step to far for Duchess Anne who instigated proceedings for a divorce. This was only stopped by the personal intervention of Queen Victoria, who was a close personal friend of the Duchess. Although divorce was off the cards the Duke grew further distant from his wife and closer to Mary, which caused friction between the Duke and his children too." (History at Random)
John Holland
1st Duke of Exeter.
Duchess of Exeter.
Wife of:
1. John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1372-1389), mar 1380, ann 1386
2. John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (1352-1400), mar 1386
3. Sir John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope and Milbroke (1364-1443)
" . . . When, in the fourteenth century, John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster, married his daughter to the much younger John de Hastings, earl of Pembroke, he did not count on his daughter spurning her teenage husband (she was some years older) and eloping with her lover, John Holland, to Spain, where Duke John was trying to settle in as co-ruler of Castile with his own young bride." (Mitchell: 139)
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James Scott 1st Duke of Monmouth |
1st Duke of Monmouth; Earl of Doncaster; Baron Scott of Tyndale 1663
1st Duke of Buccleuch; Earl of Dalkeith; Lord Scott of Whitchester & Eskdale 1663
Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch, Earl & Countess of Dalkeith, and Lord & Lady Scot of Whitchester & Eskdale (Jointly) 1663
Knight of the Garter 1663
Commander of Anglo-Dutch Brigade 1678.
Illegitimate son of: Charles II of England & Lucy Walters.
Husband of: Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch, mar 1663, sep 1679.
Husband of: Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch, mar 1663, sep 1679.
Personal & family background.
"'Young Crofts' was James, son of Charles II by Lucy Walter, daughter of William Walter, of Booth Castle, co. Pembroke. He was born in April 1649, and was brought to England after the Restoration by the Queen-Mother, at which time he bore the surname of Crofts (afterwards Lord Crofts), which was that of his Governor. The young man made such violent love to the royal mistress, that Charles hurried on his son's marriage to the Countess of Buccleugh, which happy event took place in April 1663. Some weeks before, 'Mr. Crofts' had been raised to the peerage as Duke of Monmouth, with precedence over all Dukes not of royal blood." (The Windsor Beauties: Ladies of the Court of Charles II:55)
His bride -- Lady Anne Scott.
"On 20th April, 1663, his father married him to Lady Anne Scott, sole daughter of Francis, Earl of Buccleuch, the wealthiest heiress in the three kingdoms. Monmouth was only fourteen at the time, the bride a year younger. The lady possessed some estimable qualities besides her wealth, but they were unable to attach the heart of her fickle husband. She was certainly gifted with taste and was a friend to genius. Dryden does honour to her as the 'patroness of his poor unworthy poetry,' and Gay the poet was for some time her secretary. Madame Dunois says, 'She had all that was to be wished for to make her agreeable. She had virtue, wit, riches, and birth, and though she was not extraordinarily beautiful, and was a little lame, yet in the main she was very desirable.' 'is Duchess,' says Evelyn, 'was a virtuous and excellent lady, who brought him great riches, and a second dukedom in Scotland.' Fresh honors were heaped on him. In a few years he became master of the horse, a general in the army, and gentleman of the bedchamber, captain of the life-guards, Governor of Hull, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and, in right of his young duchess, Lord great Chamberlain of Scotland." (Memoirs of the Court of England During the Reign of the Stuarts, Volume 3: 116)
Monmouth's physical appearance & personal qualities.
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James Scott 1st Duke of Monmouth @ National Portrait Gallery |
"The new command of the Life Guards and the duke's success in Paris had only increased his attractiveness to and appetite for women. A French contemporary described his appearance at this time in rapturous terms: 'His figure and the exterior graces of his person were such, that nature perhaps never formed anything more complete. His face was extremely handsome, and yet it was a manly face, neither inanimate nor effeminate' each feature having its beauty and peculiar delicacy; he had a wonderful genius for every sort of exercise, an engaging aspect, and an air of grandeur.'" (The Last Royal Rebel)
The King's greatest delight.
"His face and the exterior graces of his person were such that nature has perhaps never formed any thing more accomplished. His countenance was altogether charming: it was a manly countenance without any thing insipid or effeminate; notwithstanding, each feature had its beauty and peculiar delicacy. A wonderful disposition for all sorts of exercise, an attractive address, an air of greatness, in fine all the personal advantages spoke in his favour; but his mind said not one word for him. He had no sentiments but those which were given him by others; and those who from the first insinuated themselves into his familiar acquaintance, took care to inspire him only with pernicious ones. This dazzling exterior was that which struct at first. All the good looks of those at court were extinguished bu his, and all the great matches at his service. He was the King's greatest delight; but he was the universal terror of husbands and lovers. That, however, did not last: nature had not given him all that is required to captivate hearts; and the fair sex perceived it." (The Life, Progresses, and Rebellion of James, Duke of Monmouth: Vol 1: 17)
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James Scott Duke of Monmouth & Buccleuch |
Description by Madame Dunois.
" . . . 'He was very handsome,' says Madame Dunois, 'extremely well made and had an air of greatness answerable to his birth. He was brave, even to a fault, and exposed himself in the service abroad with a courage not to be excelled. He danced extremely well, and with an air that charmed all that saw him. His heart was always divided between love and glory. He was rich, young, gallant, and, as I have before said, the handsomest and best shaped of men. It will not after this appear strange that many ladies made it their business to engage his heart.' . . . ." (Memoirs of the Court of England During the Reign of the Stuarts, Volume 3: 114)
A very fine figure and a most handsome face.
"He has a very fine figure and a most handsome face, on which scarcely appear the first signs of a beard; but he is rather weak and ignorant, and as cold as can be. He is most unhappy in conversation and in paying compliments, with all his French schooling, his experience at court, and his acquaintance with so many princes. His inclination leads him to the pleasures of the senses and of wine; he has lately recovered somewhat from the latter, but in the former he is easily pleased, and every often has paid, in the hands of the doctors, the penalty of his too ignoble and imprudent sensuality. Now he has just returned from a voyage in France, where he gave more satisfaction to the eyes of the ladies than to any other of their senses, for in him there is more of ostentation than utility, in regard to the chief needs of that sex. There will be a place later to discuss the reason for his journey." (Lorenzo Magalotti at the Court of Charles II: 41)
Unknown libertine and extremely unfaithful.
"When he was fourteen, his father married him off to the twelve-year-old Scottish heiress Lady Anna Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, and together they had several children. The extraordinarily handsome Monmouth was a known libertine and notoriously unfaithful to his wife. His promiscuity matched his father's. From what can be gleaned from Aphra Behn's Love-Letters Between a Gentleman and His Sister, the Duke of Monmouth was sleeping with Lord Grey's wife, so he (Grey) thought it was okay to sleep with his aforementioned wife's sister. Monmouth's most notable mistress for a time was Eleanor Needham, with whom had two children. In the decade that preceded his death, however, Monmouth fell in love with Lady Henrietta Wentworth' she became his last mistress and the great love of his life." (A Year in the Life of Stuart Britain)
Duke of Monmouth's lovers were:
Barbara Villiers
1st Duchess of Cleveland
Lover in 1663?
[See The Uncrowned Queen @Royal Favourites]
" . . . He was . . . brought to England after the Restoration by the Queen-Mother... The young man made such violent love to the royal mistress, that Charles (that is, Charles II, his father) hurried on his son's marriage to the Countess of Buccleugh (sic), which happy event took place in April 1663. . . ." (Melville: 55)
"Just as Henrietta Maria had taken to James a year or two before, so the women around the king clamoured to be close to this motherless son. Beautiful, fiery and strong-willed, Barbara Castlemaine, Charles II's mistress, was cut from the same cloth as James's own mother. The two immediately took to one another and in the calendar of court social occasions,, she seemed younger by far that when the king was paired with his new queen. James and Barbara often formed a couple in a hand of cards or a dance. But she was not alone. Queen Catherine, who had only been in England a few months, was also drawn to the boy. Naive and hopelessly ill-prepared for the knowing world of the English court, she seemed younger by far than her twenty-four years. The queen's immaturity, and the youth of the ladies who attended her, gave James companions of his own generation, and during his first months he was frequently to be found in his young stepmother's apartments at Whitehall, playing cards with the maids of honour and sharing a joke with this new-found family." (The Last Royal Rebel)
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| Eleanor Needham Lady Byron |
2) Eleanor Needham, Baroness Byron of Rochdale (1650-?)
Lover in 1674-1683Natural Offspring:
1. James Crofts (d.1732), Major General
2. Henriette Crofts (1682-1730) mar Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton
3. Isabel Crofts (died young).
2. Henriette Crofts (1682-1730) mar Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton
3. Isabel Crofts (died young).
"The first of Monmouth's mistresses was Eleanor Needham. She was the daughter of Sir Robert Needham and was was born in 1650. Their liaison started around 1674 and was to last about nine years. During this time the couple produced four children: James Crofts, Isabel Crofts, Henrietta Crofts and Henry Crofts. Monmouth provided his lover with a home on what is now Great Russell Street, in Bloomsbury, London. Soon after her last child to Monmouth was born, the duke's attention was taken by a new love interest." (The Duke of Monmouth: Life and Rebellion)
Mistress to father & son.
" . . . With his mistress, the dark-haired, ivory-skinned Eleanor Needham, the daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Lambeth and reputed to have on occasion shared the bed of none other than Charles II, the duke had three illegitimate children. . . ." (Great Bastards of History: 93)
" . . . With his mistress, the dark-haired, ivory-skinned Eleanor Needham, the daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Lambeth and reputed to have on occasion shared the bed of none other than Charles II, the duke had three illegitimate children. . . ." (Great Bastards of History: 93)
"By his second wife, Jane, widow of John Worfield of All Hallows, Barking, Sir John Needham of Denbyshire had six daughters. The oldest, Jane, was born in January, 1646; the third, Eleanor, was born in July, 1650. For some years Eleanor was mistress to James, Duke of Monmouth, to whom she bore four children, all surnamed Crofts. After Monmouth's death in 1685, Eleanor married John South, a Commissioner of the Revenue in Ireland." (Court Satires of the Restoration: 265)
Duke of Monmouth & Lady Byron's brood.
"Of Eleanor there is a story to tell. She lived for years the mistress of the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, and became afterwards the wife of John South, Esq., a commissioner of the revenue in Ireland, who died in Dublin April 29, 1711. By the Duke she was the mother of four children, who all bore the name of Crofts.---which had once been their father's: James, of Stratton-street, St. James's, and of Warfield, co. Berks, who died a major-general in the army, unmarried, March 15, 1731-2; Henry, who also died unmarried in 1704; Isabella, who died young; and Henrietta, who in 1697 married, in Dublin, Charles, second Duke of Bolton, K.G., when Marquis of Winchester, and dying, his widow, February 27, 1729-30, was buried with his Grace at Basing, in Hampshire, leaving an only child, Lord Nassau, Paulett, K.B., born June 23, 1698, died August 24, 1741. . . . " (Some Particulars Contributed towards a Memoir of Mrs. Myddleton: 9)
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Elizabeth Howard Lady Felton |
3) Elizabeth Howard, Lady Felton (1656-1681)
Lover in 1678/79.
Daughter of James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk, & Barbara Villiers.
Wife of Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet Felton of Playford & Groom of the King's Bedchamber.
The fine airs of the great beauty, my Lady Betty Felton.
"Lady Elizabeth Howard, born in 1656, was the only daughter of James, third Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, Barbara, widow of Richard Wenman and a daughter of Sir Edward Villiers. Nineteen years later, Madam D'Aulnoy described her thus: 'Madam Betty had a beauty and youth that were almost dazzling, and won her the love of all who saw her, and being of a very gay disposition she seldom frightened her lovers away by her looks' (Memoirs, p. 130). In July, 1675, against her parents' wishes, she stole a marriage with handsome Thomas Felton, Esq., a Groom of the King's Bedchamber. Henry Savile wrote: 'Mr. Felton has at last got my Lady Betty, and has her in lodgings in the Mall. Her parents are very disconsolate in the point, and my Lord Suffolk swears all manner of oaths never to be reconciled (Savile Correspondence, p. 39). Eventually Suffolk was reconciled to the marriage and gave his daughter a large allowance. Once married, gay Lady Betty gloried in her conquests. In 1679 Lady Sunderland commented on 'the fine airs of the great beauty, my Lady Betty Felton, who turns heads of all the mean, and quarrels with all the women, and lies in bed and cries when things are not altogether to her taste' (Cartwright, Sacharissa, p. 240). The enfant terrible could not endure rivals. In March 1681, Lady Russell wrote that 'Lady Betty Felton threatens to mortify [Lady Arundell] above all sufferance; for she vows she will not suffer Lord Shrewsbury to adore there any longer . . . and for my Lord Thanet, she says, the world shall see how much more powerful her charms are than those of a great monarch' (Letters, p. 77). True to her vow, Lady Betty made a scene in public, and on October 2, 1681, Lady Russell added (p. 81), 'The ladies' quarrel [Lady Betty and Lady Arundel] is the only news talked of: Lady Betty lies abed and cries. . . ." (Court Satires of the Restoration: 238)
" . . . This charming woman was often at Court, and the Duke of Monmouth had become enamoured of her; she listened to him willingly, for she found him amiable and his favours and his rank agreeably flattered her vanity; in the hope of seriously engaging him she found herself pledged to love him more than was good for her peace of mind. This intrigue had been broken several times only to be renewed but perhaps I had better not say anymore." (Memoirs of the Court of England in 1675: 130)
". . .(S)he is listed as one of the Duchess Mazarin's three 'whores of honor.' She seems to have been one of the Duke of Monmouth's many mistresses, and, according to this satire, in 1680 she was sharing her favors between William, Lord Cavendish, and 'bold' Frank Newport. Lady Betty, daughter of James Howard, third Earl of Suffolk, was the wife of Thomas Felton, a Groom of the King's Bedchamber. . . . " (Court Satires of the Restoration: 47)
"In 1678/79 Betty was the subject of a painting by Benedetto Gennari the younger for the Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II. Apparently Betty found him amiable while ‘his rank agreeably flattered her vanity.’ Their liaison was a bit of an on and off affair, whether due to their other amorous commitments or because of the famous Villiers temper Betty seems to have inherited." (Good Gentlewoman)
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| Henrietta Wentworth 6th Baroness Wentworth |
5) Henrietta Wentworth (1660-1686)
Lover in 1680-1685.
English aristocrat, courtier & mistress.
6th Baroness Wentworth 1667
Maid-of-Honour to the Duchess of York
Daughter of: Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth & 1st Earl of Cleveland (created 1626) & Philadelphia Carey.
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"By 1680 Henrietta Maria was twenty years old and reportedly was a beautiful, graceful young woman, with light brown hair and large, expressive eyes. It is at this time that the relationship between Monmouth and Henrietta became more than an infatuation. If their story had been written by Shakespeare they would have been star-crossed lovers. Monmouth, the married older man, dashing, charming, a military here, the eldest son of a king, but sadly illegitimate and with limited prospects. Lady Wentworth, the young beautiful girl and the only heir to her deceased father's peerage and property, who was deeply and passionately in love with an unattainable man. He becomes a failed rebel and is tragically beheaded; she literally dies of a broken heart, having never recovered from his death." (The Duke of Monmouth: Life and Rebellion)
Personal & family background.
"Lady Henrietta Maria Wentworth, Baroness of Nettlestead in her own right, the only daughter and heir of Thomas Lord Wentworth, grandchild and heir of the Earl of Cleveland. She resided at Toddington, in the county of Bedford. Her mother hurried her from town in 1680, from a discovery she made, in spite of short sight, with respect to her daughter and the Duke of Monmouth. Notwithstanding it was to Toddington that the Duke repaired when he absconded in 1683. The Earl of Feversham sought Lady Henrietta Wentworth in marriage. She [referred being the Duke of Monmouth's mistress." (The Life, Progresses, and Rebellion of James, Duke of Monmouth: 322)
". . . . Monmouth also managed an affair with Henrietta, Baroness Wentworth, who, unlike his wife, his mistress, and his progeny, both legitimate and non, faithfully followed him into his self-imposed exile in the Netherlands . . . after he was implicated in an abortive 1683 conspiracy . . . to assassinate both Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York. . . ." (Fiorillo, 2010, p. 93)
First encounter.
"It is possible that Henrietta and Monmouth knew each other from court, as Lady Henrietta had been Maid of Honour to the Duchess of York. She was also cousin to Monmouth's guardian, Lord Crofts. There is evidence that the pair had definitely met each other by 1674 when they acted opposite one another in a play by John Crowns called Calisto. The play is also sometimes referred to as The Chaste Nymph. Monmouth played the part of the Shepherd and Henrietta Maria the part of Jupiter. At the time of the performance, Henrietta was fourteen years old, a very impressionable age for any young girl." (The Duke of Monmouth: Life and Rebellion)
"It was whilst dancing as a shepherd in John Crowne's masque, 'Calisto: Or the Chaste Nymph' that Monmouth first espied the woman whom he would regard as the love of his life, Lady Henrietta Wentworth. This was in 1675, and he was still attached to Eleanor Needham at this time. In 1680, he began to pursue Henrietta,scandalising the court. They continued their affair in secret, until Monmouth took refuge in her home at Toddington Manor in 1683, following the disastrous Rye House Plot, which he was implicated in. He looked upon Henrietta as his wife, and there is no evidence that he ever took another mistress after her." (The Seventeenth Century Lady)
"Kirby gives a long account of Henrietta Maria, the daughter of Thomas Wentworth, and the celebrated and beloved mistress of the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth. She succeeded to the Barony of Wentworth for want of male issue on the death of her grandfather, the 1st Earl of Cleveland. He says" 'She was a woman of an elegant person, most engaging manners, and the highest accomplishments. She resided many years at Toddington, in Bedfordshire, with the duke, her lover, whose attachment to her continued to his death. The duke acknowledged just before his death to two prelates and other divines who attended him, 'that he and Lady Wentworth had lived in all points like man and wife,' but they could not make him confess it was adultery. He acknowledged that he and his Duchess were married by the law of the land,and therefore his children might inherit, if the King pleased. But he did not consider what he did when he married her. [He was married to her at the age of 14.] He said that since that time he had an affection for Lady Henrietta, and prayed that, if it were pleasing to God, it might continue. The affection did continue, and therefore he doubted not it was pleasing to God; and that this was a marriage, their choice of one another being guided by judgment upon due consideration. When he addressed himself to the people from the scaffold, he said Lady Henrietta was a woman of great honour and virtue, a religious and godly lady. He was told by some of the divines of his living in adultery with her; he said no. For these two years last past he had not lived in any sin that he knew of; and that he was sure, when he died, to go to God, and therefore he did not fear death, which they might see in his face. Under these delusions, destructive of all order and social happiness, the unfortunate Duke met his death with a courage rather chivalrous than rational; and Lady Wentworth, the lamented object of his passion, is said to have died broken-hearted in consequence of his untimely end.'" (The Manors of Suffolk: 335)
Natural offspring.
". . . By the Duke of Monmouth she had a son aged 2 years at her decease, who was taken under the care of Col. Smyth, who had been an aide-de-camp to the Duke. The child assumed his benefactor's name, and married Maria Julia Dalziel, granddaughter of General James Crofts, natural son of the Duke of Monmouth by Eleanor, daughter of Sir Robert Needham, of Lambeth. By her had had a son, Ferdinand Smyth, who afterwards took the name of Stuart, and was an active Royalist in the American War." (The Manors of Suffolk: 335)
Affair's end & aftermath.
"Henrietta's story did not end well. She returned to England a month after the execution of her beloved Monmouth. Less than a year after Monmouth's execution, Baroness Henrietta Maria Wentworth breathed her last on 23 April 1686. She was buried at St. George's Church, Toddington. . . ." (The Duke of Monmouth: Life and Rebellion)
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Lady Mary Berkeley |
5) Mary Berkeley (1678-1710)
"On March 14, there arrived the Berkeleys with their daughter Mary, whom they proposed to deposit in the seclusion of Lees for some months, under the watchful eye of their trusted friend. She had incurred their displeasure by attracting the notice of a most unwelcome lover, and complete banishment to the country was no doubt the wisest cure to apply. This suitor was no other than the eldest born, and favourite, of the King's large and irregular family. Lucy Walters's ill-fated son, the Duke of Monmouth, was now twenty-two. His personal appearance, by the common consent of many writers, no less than by his portraits, was remarkable enough to attract any young girl's fancy. Dryden, we remember, in his polished satire of ' Achitophel,' apostrophises him as 'Absalom, thou piece of misplaced beauty ! ' Count Hamilton, than whom perhaps no one was a better judge, familiar as he was with the courts of Europe, remarked that ' nature perhaps never formed anything so perfect as the external graces of his person. With even fuller detail, his biographer, Roberts, describes him ' as tall, well shaped, of a good air, of a civil behaviour, none danced better, and with all this he was very brave, which made him much courted by both sexes.' Bishop Burnet gives us a glimpse of him about this time as engaged in a ' mad ramble after pleasure. Possessed of all the Stuart daring and high courage, Monmouth's love of escapade was undoubtedly fostered by his perilous position, always hovering on the border line between royal bounty and royal displeasure. All his life, he was either a King's acknowledged elder son, and claimant to a throne, or a penniless adventurer with nothing save his beauty and his sword. Married at fourteen to the Countess of Buccleuch, for the sake of her wealth and position (invaluable endowments for a bastard's wife), his romantic love for Henrietta Wentworth had not yet been born. Mary's diary seems effectually to dispose of the accusation that * at one and the same time, he was carrying on two guilty intrigues, with Lady Wentworth and Lady Grey.' The episode at Lees had doubtless not been forgotten by his enemies, although it happened at least ten years before. To clear his memory thus far is a wholesome task. Mary Berkeley became, not long after, Lady Grey, and there is no suggestion that Monmouth's passing infatuation for her survived her marriage. Perhaps his pursuit of her was never more than a romantic episode; but, at any rate, it was carried out with all the dramatic instinct that dogged his footsteps through life and conducted him at last to the scaffold on Tower Hill." (Mary Rich, countess of Warwick (1625-1678): her family and friends: 248)
"Behn's story concerns the 'private,' scandalous love affair of Forde, Lord of Wark (Philander), and his sister-in-law Lady Henrietta Berkeley (Silvia). But Lady Henrietta's sister and Lord Grey's wife, Lady Mary Berkeley (Mertilla) had already succumbed to the seductive arms of the Duke of Monmouth (Cesario), the illegitimate son of Charles II. More important, Lord Grey was deeply involved in state affairs, most notably as a loyal supporter of Monmouth throughout this entire period. . . ." (The Secret History of Domesticity: 507)
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Mary Kirke Baroness Hodnet |
6) Mary Kirke, Baroness Hodnet (1646-1711).
Lover in 1674.
Maid of Honour to Marie Beatrice, Duchess of York
Daughter of George Kirke, Keeper of Whitehall Palace, & Groom of the Bedchamber of Charles II & Mary Townsend, a famous courtesan of 1640s.
"Maid of Honour to Mary of Modena, Duchess of York (1673-75) and mistress of the Duke of Monmouth. Her father George Kirke, an impoverished royalist, was Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles II and Housekeeper of Whitehall Palace. Mary Kirke and her sister Diana (later Countess of Oxford) both conducted notorious affairs at court. In 1675 she took refuge in a convent in France but subsequently became the mistress of Sir Thomas Vernon, 2nd Bt. of Hodnet, whom she married in May 1677. She died at Greenwich in 1711." (NPG)
"Monmouth also had an intrigue with Mary Kirke, a Maid of Honour to the Duchess of York (Mary of Modena) but appears to have shared her favours with the Duke of York and Lord Mulgrave. Warned of Mulgrave's interest in his mistress, Monmouth had him placed under house arrest in the palace guard house. Mulgrave retaliated by challenging one of the Duke's adherents, Mr. Felton, to a duel, Lord Middleton and Mr. Buckley being seconds. Nine months later, in May/June 1675, the unfortunate maid, had the ill-fortune to become the mother of a boy, which however, died within 3 or 4 hours'. 'It was not said yet to which father it belongs'." (Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family)
"George Kirke's second daughter, Mary ('Mall' ( Kirke, was a Maid of Honor to Marie Beatrice, Duchess of York, c. 1673-1675. She seems to have been mistress (1) to the Duke of York, (2) to the Duke of Monmouth, and (3) to the Earl of Mulgrave. Apparently she tried to juggle all three at once. . . ." (Court Satires of the Restoration:304)
Mary was a born courtier.
"Mary, or Moll, Kirke, had been Monmouth's 'newest mistress' in October 1674, but, to his irritation, she had soon moved to the Earl of Mulgrave. The daughter of Mary Townsend , a famous courtesan of the 1640s, and the Keeper of Whitehall Palace, George Kirke, Mary was a born courtier. 'When she was abandoned, pregnant, by Mulgrave the following year, her brother Percy, who had a commission in Monmouth's regiment, challenged the earl to a duel for having so 'debauch'd & abus'd his sister'. Monmouth's trusted lieutenant and master of the horse Captain Charles Godfrey was Kirke's second, and her return to respectability, through her marriage in 1677 to Sit Thomas Vernon of Hodnet, may well have been orchestrated by Monmouth's secretary James Vernon. So while Mary Kirke may have jilted Monmouth, he helped her when she needed it most." (The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth)
Colonel Robert Sidney's Son?.
"Lucy Walters, or Barlow, now become King Charles the Second's mistress, gave birth at Rotterdam, April 9th, 1649, to JAMES, afterwards created DUKE OF MONMOUTH. Some said the child was Colonel Sidney's, whom he chiefly resembled even to a wart in the face. James ii always believed this to be the truth; Evelyn writes that Monmouth resembled 'handsome Sidney' more than the Ling. 'The knowing world, as well as myself, had many convincing proofs,' wrote James, 'to think he was not the King's son, but Robert Sidney's.' It will be found that the King believed the child to be his, and loved him with great affection. Whether this fondness, which appeared in many remarkable instances in later years, was genuine affection, or proceeded from political motives, is a question that will be entertained in a future page." (The Life, Progresses, and Rebellion of James, Duke of Monmouth: 3)
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| John Maitland 1st Duke of Lauderdale |
Scottish politician & leader in the Cabal Ministry.
1st Duke of Lauderdale
2nd Earl of Lauderdale
3rd Lord Thirlestane
Earl of Guilford
Baron Petersham (1674).
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| John Maitland Duke of Lauderdale |
"John Maitland, 1st Duke and 2nd Earl of Lauderdale, 3rd Lord Thirlestane (1616-1682), politician and leader within the Cabal Ministry. . . ." (Grosvenor Prints)
His lover was:
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| Elizabeth Murray Countess of Dysart the Royalist Rebel |
Elizabeth Murray, Duchess of Lauderdale (1627-1697)
British noblewoman
Countess of Dysart (1655)
"John became her second husband after King Charles II was restored to power. They married just six weeks after his wife's first death, leading many to gossip that there'd been a little hanky panky whole she was still sucking air. John was an ugly man who had a habit of spitting on people when he talked, but he was a lot of fun. He acted as the King's pimp, aiding him in sexual dalliances. Once, when he was perhaps unable to procure a desirable wench, he dressed in women's clothes and danced for the King's amusement. So he was also the official royal drag queen!
"While John was busy pimping and cross-dressing for the King, Elizabeth was busy extorting taxpayer money to support their extravagant lifestyle. As finances dwindled and John grew fat, the marriage went sour. When John took ill, Elizabeth convinced him to drink the waters of Tunbridge (a popular health spa), though everyone warned the tainted waters would surely kill him. John had the good manners to die quickly...much cheaper than divorce." (Sartle)
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| Ralph Montagu 1st Duke of Montagu Montagu the Magnificent @Wikipedia |
(1638-1709)
Son of: Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton & Anne Winwood.
Husband of:
1. Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley, mar 1673
2. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, mar 1692.
1. Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley, mar 1673
2. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, mar 1692.
Love Life: "The revelations of Ralph Montagu gave substance to the fears of Danby as an evil counselor. Montagu had served as ambassador to France and had been a loyal supporter of the court. The ambassador was also a notorious lecher (no mean accomplishment in Restoration England). In France, Montagu had engaged simultaneously in an affair with the Duchess of Castlemaine and the Duchess's daughter, Anne Countess of Sussex. When the king's former mistress found out that her lover was sleeping with her daughter, she became incensed and complained to the king, Anne's father. Montagu rushed off to London, without leave, to plead his case personally in front of his monarch, but at this point in his reign Charles was strictly guarding access. He had no desire to hear Montagu's explanations. . . Charles refused to hear any explanations from Montagu and stripped him of all employments." (Weiser: 80)
3rd Baron Montagu; Viscount Monthermer & Earl of Montagu (1689); Marquis of Monthermer & Duke of Montagu (1705).
"Ralph Montagu, third Baron Montagu, ambassador to France in 1669. For his share in promoting the Revolution of 168, he was created by King William, on the 9th of April, Viscount Monthermer and Earl of Montagu. In 1705, Queen Anne advanced him to be Marquis of Monthermer and Duke of Montagu. He died in 1709." (Jesse": 300)
His lovers were:
1) Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex (1661-1721)
Lover in 1678
2) Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland.
3) Jane Needham, Mrs. Myddleton.
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| Richard Talbot 1st Duke of Tyrconnel |
(1630-1691)
Earl of Tyrconnel
1683
Husband of:
1. Katherine Boynton mar 1669
2. Frances Jennings mar 1681
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Tyrconnel was a man of commanding stature, and very handsome when young. In his later days he became corpulent and unwieldy. . . ." (Dictionary of National Biography: 336)
His lover was.
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| Frances Jennings Duchess of Tyrconnel |
Maid of Honour to the Duchess of York.
Daughter of Richard Jenyns & Frances Thornhurst.
Wife of
1. Sir George Hamilton, Comte de Hamilton mar 1665
2. Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel mar 1681.
Spouses & Offspring: She married 1) in 1665, Sir George Hamilton, Comte de Hamilton; 2) in 1681, Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel. Her children were: Elizabeth Hamilton, who married Richard Parsons, 1st Viscount Rosse; Frances Hamilton, who married Henry Dillon, 8th Viscount Dillon; and Mary Hamiltonm who married Nicholas Barnewell, 3rd Viscount Barnewell.
Physical Traits & Personal Qualities: "...'Nature had endowed her with all those charms which cannot be expressed, and the Graces had given the finishing strokes to them. The turn of her face was exquisitely fine, and her swelling neck was as bright and as fair as her face. In a word, her person gave the idea of Aurora, or the goddess of Spring, 'such as youthful poets fancy when they love.'" (Adam).
"Frances, for her part, married Sir George Hamilton (162176), a count and Marechal de Camp. Before Frances's marriage, she was a maid of honor at court and described as 'La Belle Jenyns'; Philibert Comte de Grammont compared her to Aurora. After such extravagant praise, however, he added more honestly 'there was something lacking in her hands and arms,' and that 'her nose was not the most elegant and her eyes left something to be desired.' Frances's portrait attributed to Gascars seems to confirm de Grammont's latter assessment, though she did have masses of curly blond hair that was elaborately styled. John Evelyn called her a 'Spiteful young Lady,' and Pepys recorded 'What mad freaks the maids of honour at Court have: that Mrs. Jennings, one of the Duchess's maids' went to the theatre disguised. . . . " (Roos, 2011, pp. 49-50)
Frances Jennings's other lover was:
". . . His rival was Henry Jermyn---'le petit Jermyn'---the most formidable lover and the most insufferable puppy of the Court. The nature of Jermyn's intentions seem to have been extremely questionable; although, when the Duchess of York interposed for the honour of her charming attendant, he passionately affirmed his views to be honourable. With this insignificant coxcomb, Miss Jennings, following the example of older beauties than herself, fell violently in love; and, as the world really believed he intended to make her his wife, she was complimented on having humbled so formidable a gallant. . . . " (Jesse, Vol. 3, 1855, p. 238)
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| Robert Bertie 4th Duke of Ancaster |
(1756-1779)
His lovers were:
1) Elizabeth Armistead.
Lover in 1779.
British courtesan."1779 Robert now dallies with another courtesan Elizabeth Armistead and sets her up as her patron in a house in Portman Square. Town and Country magazine claimed that Elizabeth whilst with Robert had an affair with a lieutenant of infantry and bore his child. Robert's involvement. Robert's involvement did not last long as he died in the same year." (The Berties of Grimsthorpe Castle: 222)
2) Rebecca Krudener.
2) Rebecca Krudener.
"One of Ban Tarleton's many friends during the occupation of Philadelphia was Robert Bertie, a wealthy young aristocrat who was a couple of years his junior. Early in 1778, Bertie made a trip to England to attend his severely ill father, the Duke of Ancaster. He found time while he was home to become involved with a woman named Rebecca Krudener, and when he returned to America after his father's death, she was expecting his child. Robert seems to have been genuinely attached to Rebecca, so perhaps he mentioned his impending fatherhood to Banastre. If he did, neither of them could have had the least suspicion that some twenty years later Robert's love child, Susan Priscilla, would become Mrs. Banastre Tarleton." (golden.net)
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| William Cavendish Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland |
(1738-1809)
His lovers were:
" . . . William had another romantic entanglement with a married woman, plaintive Anne Liddell, Duchess of Grafton, who was ill treated by her husband (he neglected her in favor of his own notorious mistress) and poured out her woes to her confidant. . . ." (Brooks: 160)
". . . During the spring she began a love affair with William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, third duke of Portland, whom she had known since at least 1763. It seems likely that the duchess hoped to marry Portland, and their relationship was known in society, but in June 1765 Portland announced his engagement to Lady Dorothy Cavendish without first informing the duchess, leading to her public humiliation. . . . " (ODNB)
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2) Maria Walpole, Countess of Waldegrave (1736-1807)
" . . . He had love affairs, first with Maria Walpole, Countess of Waldegrave, a niece of Horace Walpole. Maria was a beautiful widow, but she had her sights set on an even higher prospect than William; she soon threw him aside for the Duke of Gloucester, brother to King George III, to whom she was subsequently married in secret. . . ." (Brooks: 160)
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| William Douglas 4th Duke of Queensberry @Wikipedia |
(1723-1810)
4th Duke of Queensberry
1778-1810
Lord of the Bedchamber to King George III 1760-1789.
Son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of March & Anne Hamilton, 2nd Countess of Ruglen.
Old Q's' personal & family background.
"Made fatherless when he was only xix, Old Q grew up without an education, but instead dedicated his life to pleasure and to the Turf. By the time he was 21 he was a successful jockey and had built up a widely admired stud. . . ." (I Never Knew That About the Scottish)
An ideal role model for extravagance.
"The other reprobate was William Douglas, fourth Duke of Queensberry, popularly known as Old Q after the single initial boldly painted on his carriage door. Immensely wealthy, Queensberry was the leading racehorse owner of the age and an inveterate gambler. He had met the prince when Lord of the Bedchamber to George III, although he clearly did not share his sovereign's poor opinion of his son and heir or the need for sobriety for he was later dismissed by the king for drunkenness. Certainly, Queensberry, who had obtained almost mystical status as a raddled old libertine, made an ideal role model for a young prince determined to live extravagantly and to flout social convention. . . ." (Prinny and His Pals)
" . . . Apart from drinking, Old Q's specialty vice was whoring, and he became famous as the most public lecher in the kingdom, a reputation all the more incongruous because of his short stature and shriveled features. His lair was a fine mansion on Piccadilly into which he was said to take young girls obtained for hims by an elderly procuress who combed the local lodging houses, servant-hiring fairs and even girls' boarding schools. The press and the cartoonists transformed Queensbury into a figure of almost fairy tale lust and attributed to him all the characteristics of failing sexuality such as paying young women to undress but now touching them. In an attempt to regain his youth and potency he was said to have bathed in mils and slept with veal cutlets on his face. Such stories appeared in the cheap scandal sheets of the time, in one of which a fictitious young woman claimed that she had slept with 'the old goat of Piccadilly', having got into his bead a maid and left it in the same condition. From such public exposure it is easy to see the Duke of Queens-berry as the inspiration for the phrase 'a dirty old man'. Why the young and stylish heir to the throne would have welcomed the company of such an elderly and idnfamous reprobate remains a mystery, but the friendship was maintained for many years." (Prinny and His Pals)
His lovers were:
1) Costanza Brusati Fagnani
Marchesa Fagnani.
" . . . A more personal obsession, however, was a young woman called Maria Fagnani, over whom he disputed paternity with the MP George Selwyn. Maria married the Earl of Yarmouth in 1798, and in order to raise money for her dowry, Old Q cut down vast swathes of the woodland at Neidpath, denuding the banks of the Tweed of their beautiful timber and provoking an indignant sonnet from William Wordsworth. . . ." (I Never Knew That About the Scottish)
2) Contessa della Rena.
3) Teresina Tondino.
4) La Zamparini.
"Along with his other passions, Old Q was most fond of the ladies, especially young prima donnas, and in pursuit of this high calling he became a great patron of the Italian opera, showing a kindly concern for a 15-year-old singer called La Zamparini, and later for two others, La Rena and La Tondino." (I Never Knew That About the Scottish)
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