Susanna De Vries - Royal Mistresses of the House of Hanover-Windsor: Secrets, Scandals and Betrayals

Excerpt from a letter written by Edward, Prince of Wales, to Freda Dudley Ward during the Princes 1920 visit to Australia. The complete letter is held by the State Library of New South Wales (Mitchell Library).

Susanna de Vries, 2012

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism, review, or as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process printed or digital without written permission. Inquiries for reproduction by any means whatsoever should be made to the publisher. All photographs taken before 1955 are deemed under the terms of The Copyright Act to be out of copyright. The historical engravings by James Gillray are taken from originals which are the property of Pirgos Press and need their permission in order to be reproduced.

First published in May 2012, reprinted July of that year with updates.
This edition published 2013
Published by Pirgos Press, Cutty Sark Studio,
10 Matingara Street, Chapel Hill, Brisbane, 4069.
Distributed in Australia by Dennis Jones & Associates Pty Ltd. Tel: 03-9762-9100.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Author: De Vries, Susanna,1935
Title: ROYAL MISTRESSES OF THE HOUSE OF HANOVER-WINDSOR.
Editors: Marusia McCormick and Jake de Vries.

End notes with biographical details.
Includes index.
ISBN 9781742982694 (ePub)

Subjects:
1) Hanover, House ofHistory.
2) Windsor, House ofHistory.
3) MistressesEnglandHistory.
4) FeminismEnglandHistory.
5) WomenSexual behaviourGreat BritainHistory.
6) Favorites, RoyalEnglandHistory.

Dewey Number: 941 07

Front cover: THE MYSTERIOUS MISTRESS, unsigned nineteenth century pastel from a private collection.
Photograph copyright Pirgos Press.
Cover and book design by Jake de Vries.
Indexed by Jake de Vries.

Distributed by

Port Campbell Press

www.portcampbellpress.com.au

Conversion by

PROLOGUE

Melusine, Duchess of Kendal and Prince George Ludwig (later George I)

Mary Perdita Darby Robinson and George Augustus, Prince of Wales (later George IV)

Maria Fitzherbert and George Augustus, Prince of Wales (later George IV)

Lady Jennie Churchill and Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

Lady Daisy Brooke and Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

Alice Keppel and Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

Freda (Winifred) Dudley Ward and Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII)

Lady Thelma Morgan Furness and Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII)

Wallis Warfield Simpson and Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor)

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Charles, Prince of Wales

DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ENDNOTES

INDEX

James Gillrays etching is an acid comment on the arranged marriages of the sons of George III, made for dynastic and financial reasons. Prince Frederick, father of two illegitimate sons, was made to marry the daughter of the King of Prussia. Her dowry in gold coins is carried by a Prussian soldier as the Prince introduces his wealthy German bride to his delighted parents.

Susanna de Vries was born and raised in England and now divides her time between Australia and Europe. She is the author of a dozen biographies of women and three books of art history.

As an adopted child, the product of a liaison between a married aristocrat and his married mistress, she was drawn to research this complex topic and the result was RoyalMistresses.

Educated at St Georges Ascot, Berkshire Susanna studied art history and literature in Paris and Madrid. She undertook post-graduate study in Florence and on a Churchill Fellowship was allowed to conduct research in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. She received an Order of Australia (AM) for services to art and literature and an award for a distinguished contribution to literature by the Australian Society of Women Writers. She has retired from lecturing at university but is an approved lecturer for the Australian branch of NADFAS, the Fine and Decorative Art Society.

Susanna became interested in effects of arranged marriages between cousins, a usual practice among royal families and the genetic and psychological effects when her first husband worked in the Department of Clinical Psychiatry headed by Professor Sir Martin Roth, a respected psychiatrist consulted by several members of the royal family and came to Australia when her late husband was appointed professor at the Medical School of the University of Queensland. A list of her publications is on line at www.bookfinder.com

Every arranged marriage provides a vacancy for a mistress
Translation of an old French proverb.

Princes of the House of Hanover made arranged marriages for political, financial and dynastic reasons. Most of them compensated for loveless arranged marriages to German cousins by taking mistresses. Royal brides had to have blue blood and be virginal to prevent any chance of a cuckoo in the royal nest, so a prince marrying his mistress was unthinkable.

The first mistress of the British branch of the German House of Hanover was Melusine von der Schulenburg. Before the coronation of her royal lover as George I, Melusine arrived in England by ship with Petronilla von Schulenburg, one of her three illegitimate daughters the future King had fathered during his time as Crown Prince of Hanover. Even though George I was divorced and had a mistress, the Archbishop of Canterbury anointed him as Defender of the Faith and nominal head of the Anglican Church, even though this Church did not allow divorce.

George Is son, the future King George II, installed Mrs Henrietta Howard as his mistress. When Henrietta lost her looks he gave her money to buy a house and replaced her with the much younger Sophie von Wallmoden, mother of his illegitimate son. When George II died, the avaricious Sophie returned to Hanover with a chest filled with jewels and money from the late King.

George III was faithful to his wife and keen that the royal family should epitomise family values. He and Queen Charlotte had 17 children, but his sons were spendthrifts and had many mistresses. In mid life George III was anguished by the fact that he had plenty of illegitimate grandchildren but no legitimate ones.