giovedì 20 ottobre 2016

"Our poor Bertie, neither fish, nor flesh .." - King Edward VII of UK and his mistresses.


The birth of an heir apparent had been announced by Albert from Buckingham Palace on 9 November 1841.
'You have become an Uncle again' he wrote to his brother 'and this time it is a nephew. Victoria was confined at 10.45 o'clock. Mother and son are well. I am over-tired and have no end of letters to write, therefore I must close.' 
Bertie's birth came as a godsend to the people of Windsor, everyone got 4 pounds of beef, 2 pounds of bread, a pound of plum pudding, a peck of potatoes, 2 pints of ale and a sack of coal. The boys of Derby Grammar School, together with those of Harrow, winchester and Rugby, got an extended holiday.1



La nascita di un erede al trono fu annunciata da Albert da Buckingham Palace il 9 novembre 1841.
'Sei diventato nuovamente zio', scrisse a suo fratello 'e questa volta si tratta di un nipote. Victoria ha partorito alle ore 10.45. Madre e figlio stanno bene. Io sono troppo stanco ed ho una serie infinita di lettere da scrivere, quindi devo chiudere '.
La nascita di Bertie venne accolta come una manna dal cielo per la gente di Windsor, a tutti furono donati 4 libbre di manzo, 2 libbre di pane, una libbra di plum pudding, un sacco di patate, 2 pinte di birra ed un sacco di carbone. Ai ragazzi della Derby Grammar School, a quelli della Harrow, della Winchester e della Rugby, fu concessa una lunga vacanza.1 pag 145



E' vero, a quel tempo la regina aveva già fatto esperienza di un parto, che era stato ben lungo e difficile: Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, detta Vicky, futura Empress Federick, nata nel novembre dell'anno precedente, venne alla luce prematuramente dopo 12 ore di travaglio, tanto doloroso quanto concreto motivo di fondati timori ...'Non temete, il prossimo sarà un principe' 2 disse la regina ai dottori quando le comunicarono il sesso della sua primogenita ... e non si sbagliava !
Ella voleva che il futuro erede al trono fosse un maschio, non voleva che una donna dovesse succederle per trovarsi al suo posto vivendo i disagi che ella stessa stava provando, disagi che fortunatamente erano di gran lunga alleviati dal supporto costante del Principe Consorte Albert e dalla sua preziosa collaborazione.
Sta di fatto che non era di sicuro nelle intenzioni della Regina Victoria dare alla luce ad una sì lunga discendenza, fatta di ben nove figli - ne nasceva circa uno ogni 21 mesi, in media - ed anche se spesso la vediamo ritratta con sguardo ed atteggiamenti amorevoli nei confronti dei propri pargoli, in realtà ella detestava la gravidanza e decisamente non avvertiva trasporto per i bambini:

  
Queen Victoria, Empress Frederick and King Edward VII 
after a painting by Samuel Cousins (1801 - 1887) 


Queen Victoria, Empress Frederick and King Edward VII by Samuel Cousins (1801 - 1887)


Anche se la regina Vittoria diede alla luce nove bambini vivi, ognuno dei quali sopravvisse almeno fino a raggiungere l'età adulta, ella aveva poca pazienza con i suoi figlioli nonostante fossero di bell'aspetto e si comportassero correttamente, e nutrì sentimenti molto ambivalenti circa la propria considerevole nidiata. E più crescevano, più contrastanti divenivano i suoi stati d'animo. Per certo detestava i neonati, molto probabilmente non avendone mai visto uno prima di dare alla luce il suo primo figlio, la principessa Victoria, il 21 novembre 1840, alla quale ebbe a confessare per iscritto, diciotto anni dopo, che si sentiva come una mucca o un cane durante la gravidanza. In effetti, il solo concetto di gravidanza ripugnava la regina.

Praticamente un anno esatto separava Bertie ( Albert Edward ), nato il 9 novembre del 1841, 



dalla sorella primogenita Vicky, con la quale verrà sempre messo a paragone: lei precoce, d'intelligenza vivace - a due anni conosceva già non solo l'inglese, ma padroneggiava anche il tedesco - docile di carattere, lui tanto più riottoso e ribelle quanto più a lei veniva rapportato ( a due anni ancora non erano riusciti ad insegnargli gran ché ) ... 
La nascita di nuovi fratelli del suo stesso sesso lo metteranno dapprincipio molto più a suo agio nella nursery ( il quarto figlio e secondo maschio concepito dalla coppia reale britannica fu Alfred, detto Affie, nato a Windsor Castle il 6 agosto del 1844 ),



La regina Victoria con i suoi primi quattro figli; da sinistra Vicky, Alice, Alfred, Edward Albert 
( Bertie ), autore sconosciuto



ma Vicky continuerà a rimanere la prediletta tra le femmine, della regina e soprattutto del padre, che vagheggiava per lei un futuro senza pari ( l'avrebbe voluta imperatrice della Germania e lo diventerà quale moglie di Federico III di Germania, imperatore tedesco e re di Prussia ).


Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prince Alfred, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1849


Alfred, il più curioso e talentuoso dei ragazzi, imparò a suonare il violino in segreto, in modo da sorprendere i suoi genitori, rappresentando in tal guisa un ulteriore ostacolo per il povero Bertie; lui era molto più costante e perseverante nei suoi intenti, cosa che compiaceva i genitori, mentre Bertie trascorse gran parte della sua infanzia in una sorta di catalessi.

Tra i figli maschi, Victoria si sentirà più trasportata verso Arthur, nato il primo maggio del 1850 ...


Prince Arthur, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1852


ella 'adorò il piccolo Arthur dal giorno della sua nascita' [...] 'il più caro di tutti gli altri messi insieme'. 5 


Painting of the young Queen Victoria and her children by John Calcott Horsley (1817 - 1903).



Senza troppe aspettative guardava al suo Bertie la Regina Victoria, non sapendo quali provvedimenti adottare per educarlo e crescerlo come il suo rango richiedeva, il suo Bertie dal carattere così tanto difficile ('L'unico di tutti i bambini che mai disegnò, scrisse, suonò [voleva dire uno strumento] o fece qualsiasi cosa per mostrare il suo affetto - al di là dell'acquisto di un tavolo per me in Irlanda - era Bertie. Oh Bertie, ahimè! ahimè! Qusto è un argomento troppo triste di cui trattare.'6... ella riponeva fiducia in sempre nuovi educatori, conscia che egli sarebbe stato re in futuro: era il Principe di Galles, erede al trono del Regno Unito, ma già con l'adolescenza non sembrava mostrare propensione per questo importante ruolo che il destino gli aveva assegnato.

Spesso le scelte sulle modalità educative da adottare per il loro figliolo porrà in contrasto la coppia regale, essendo Albert più propenso alle punizioni, Victoria più compassionevole e desiderosa di comprendere i motivi dell'indisciplinatezza e della natura così disobbediente del suo carattere, tanto da farlo sottoporre a delle visite neurologiche che potessero chiarire qualcosa a livello encefalico, magari un difetto nello sviluppo o una carenza genetica nella sua formazione cerebrale ... 


Affie e Bertie nel 1855



certo è che la psicologia stava appena scorgendo la propria alba e nessuno poteva, in un siffatto atteggiamento, individuare un disagio emotivo - sociale che andava solamente compreso amorevolmente ... invece, il fatto che fosse destinato a divenire re, come da protocollo, lo vide isolare dal resto della sua famiglia all'età di soli sette anni per vivere esclusivamente in compagnia di tutori ed educatori, cosa che lo rese più facilmente acculturabile, ma vieppiù schivo ed introverso, insicuro di sé, della propria immagine, del proprio modo di essere, e che gettò così le basi per l'eccessiva ambizione che connoterà il suo carattere da adulto, ambizioso e mai sufficientemente soddisfatto della propria immagine, tanto da cercare continue conferme sulla propria compiacenza in sempre nuove relazioni adulterine.

In realtà molteplici furono i fattori che imbigirono l'infanzia di Bertie, fattori gravosi sui quali egli, purtroppo, non poteva esercitare alcun controllo: oltre alla presenza così 'pesante' della sorella Vicky, come suddetto, egli doveva convivere con l'ansia che gli procurava il fatto che la madre lo ponesse sempre a paragone con l'adorato marito, Albert, il padre fonte inesauribile di virtù, a modello del quale egli doveva crescere, 


The Family of Queen Victoria, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1846.
Da sinistra a destra: Principe Alfred e il Principe di Galles ; la Regina e il Principe Albert ; le Principesse Alice, Elena e Victoria



ed il timore di entrambi i genitori che in lui covasse il gene che guidò alla follia molti antenati della casa di Hannover ... c'è quasi da stupirsi che egli non abbia avuto un crollo nervoso prima e durante l'adolescenza, ma, se mi passate la frase, potremmo dire che egli scelse la strada parallela, forse, anzi, di sicuro per lui meno dolorosa. 

Incline all'ozio ed ai vizi cresceva perciò il giovane rampollo, e quando giunse l'età papabile per compiere, in compagnia degli amici e tutori adeguati, debitamente scelti dal padre, il 'grand tour' ed addestramenti militari lontano da casa, non si fece sfuggire l'occasione di concedersi anche le prime liberalità di natura passionale: quando egli si trovò con i Granatieri a Curragh Camp in Irlanda, nell'estate del 1861, conobbe, infatti, Nellie Clifden, una ballerina irlandese che divenne la sua prima amante quando egli aveva appena diciannove anni, la prima di una lunga serie, dico lunga perché neppure il matrimonio, contratto il 10 marzo del 1863 con la principessa Alexandra di Danimarca, figlia del Principe Cristiano IX, lo fermerà dall'intraprendere relazioni passionali, più o meno protratte nel tempo, con donne coniugate e non, appartenenti alle alte sfere ... e se ne contano più di sessanta !


Il Principe di Galles ed Alexandra di Danimarca in abiti per cavalcare.



Le notizie circa questo 'incidente' di percorso del giovane Principe di Galles raggiunsero i genitori ed il Principe Albert non tardò nei giorni immediatamente successivi a raggiungerlo a Cambridge, presso cui il giovane studiava, e, sotto una pioggia intensa, discussero sui valori morali e sull'importanza che una condotta irreprensibile avevano per lui. Albert si spense pochi mesi dopo, e la regina Victoria non smise di accusare il figlio per la morte del marito, lo avrebbero ucciso la sua terribile condotta e le preoccupazioni di cui essa fu fonte ... ne era e ne rimarrà per sempre convinta anche se studi recenti sembrano supportare la tesi di un decesso dovuto al cronicizzarsi del Morbo di Krohn, di cui egli avrebbe sofferto, o di un male incurabile allo stomaco, ma al tempo né l'uno né l'altro potevano essere riscontrati.


Il Principe di Galles e la sua famiglia ritratti nel 1867: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence ed Avondale, Alexandra, Princess of Wales con in braccio Louise, Princess Royal, Edward, Prince of Wales che tiene sulle ginocchia George V.




Ma leggiamo insieme questo estratto dal libro che reca il titolo Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family che ci fornisce un'idea, anche se del tutto relativa, delle relazioni extraconiugali e dei figli illegittimi che con ogni probabilità Albert Edward, Principe di Galles, meglio conosciuto come Re Edoardo VII, ebbe con le numerose amanti che fecero parte della sua vita, argomento che rappresenta una sorta di secondo paragrafo di questo mio scritto, essendo la seconda parte della sua vita quasi una palese conseguenza del clima emotivamente così teso in cui egli visse l'infanzia.

Il defunto Theo Aronsen, nel suo libro 'The king in Love - Edward VII's mistresses' ha condotto assidue ricerche su qualsivoglia figlio cui il re può aver dato vita così come ha fatto Raymond Lamont-Brown nel suo libro Edward VII's Last Loves - Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser ( 1998).
Come era di moda al tempo, la maggior parte delle sue amanti erano rispettabili donne sposate che, a torto o a ragione, facevano passare la loro prole, da chiunque fosse stata generata, come figli legittimi del marito. E 'quindi molto difficile per noi determinare la paternità di taluni con certezza, in quanto spesso non vi sono altro che prove circostanziali ed il test del DNA non era ancora stato scoperto.

Tre erano le amanti ufficiali del re, tutte sposate: in ordine cronologico i loro nomi erano Lily Langtry, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, e Alice Keppel, ma mentre ci sono stati indubbiamente molti Royal 'felings' non possiamo essere certi che nessuno di questi hanno portato alla nascita di ulteriori figli illegittimi, ma sappiamo che probabilmente a causa di un attacco di sifilide di cui probabilmente fu vittima forse non fu così che andarono le cose. Tuttavia, vi è un buon numero di persone che vantano diritti.

Nel suo libro The Fox Hunters of Vanity Fair, Gordon Fergusson afferma che le amanti di Edward erano innumerevoli e tra loro vi era Patsy Cornwallis-West il cui figlio George Frederik Myddleton Cornwallis-West (che in seguito sposò la vedova Lady Randolph Churchill) era nato il 14 novembre 1874; egli era un figlioccio del principe ed era nipote del marchese di Headford. Patsy era una delle favorite a corte e si dice che George fu concepito dal principe nei boschi a Eaton dove era ospitato dal Duca di Westminster. Una ragazzina che lavorava nella proprietà sostenne di aver 'visto il principe su di lei'. Tuttavia, come ben si può supporre, non vi è alcun riferimento a questo paternità reale nell'Almanacco di Nobiltà Inglese redatto da Burke (vedi de la Warr, E).

Poi vi fu il figlio della figlia del V ° Duca di Newcastle, Lady Susan Vane Tempest, cognome da nubile Pelham-Clinton, nato nel 1871, per l'educazione del quale fu richiesto al principe di contribuire. Altri ad essere menzionati furono il ​​figlio della Princesse de Jeanne Sagan, poi Duchesse de Talleyrand-Périgord, che potrebbe aver avuto un padre reale, dopo un flirt nel 1873 quando il Principe di Galles si recò in visita al Chateau de Mello, a sud di Parigi.

Olga, poi, baronessa de Mayer, figlia di Blanche, Duchessa di Caracciola, si dice sia stata la figlia illegittima preferita del principe, concepita in una delle visite a Dieppe, dove fu allevata con discrezione. Si diceva inoltre che Olga divenne una dei Winnarata, le amanti della Princesse de Polignac, molto prima che Viola Keppel / Trefusis condividesse il suo letto. Alcuni sostengono che Roderick Ross, il capo della polizia di Edimburgo e Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, capo del Secret Intelligence Service, su cui il personaggio di James Bond sarebbe stato modellato, fossero entrambi figli del principe.

Poi c'era Sophie, moglie del colonnello W.Hall Walker che era solita ricevere il re in incognito con lo pseudonimo di Duca di Lancaster, anche se, pensate, era di 35 anni più vecchio di lei; e anche Grazia Foster, nata Bloomfield, di Co Fermanagh che aveva un figlio Stewart Arthur Forster (nato il 30 agosto 1839) creduto da molti figlio del principe. A quanto pare Stewart fu deriso molto circa la sua paternità a Wincester e la conseguenza del vedere il padre forgiato su tanta parte della moneta del regno, fu che i suoi figli negarono a chiunque di sapere qualcosa ! 

C'era anche la signorina Margot Thorold di Boothby Hall nel Lincolnshire e Cora Pearl che amava essere servita su di un piatto d'argento 'à la nue' ... La divorziata, soffocante duchessa di Mouchy, e Sarah Bernhardt erano altre amanti e la lista continua. 7

Tra gli altri nomi al tempo noti si annoverano quello di Hortense Schneider, soprano francese, e di Lady Forbes, che furono amanti del monarca negli anni 1867-1868, Catherine Schneider, una delle cortigiane dell'epoca, che 'visse a corte' nel 1870 e persino Caroline Otero, la quale ebbe una relazione con il re nel 1897.


Re Edoardo VII ( autore sconosciuto )



Questo era THE PEACEMAKER OF EUROPE o L'ONCLE DE L'EUROPE, dati anche i numerosi legami di parentela che lo legavano alle principali case regnanti europee, da quella sovietica a quella tedesca, a quella greca, a quella spagnola, etc. il quale, politicamente parlando, dopo essere stato incoronato re nel 1901, tenne una condotta davvero irreprensibile.

Perdonate la prolissità, ma certi argomenti, come ben sapete, sollecitano il mio entusiasmo e non mi accorgo di quanto velocemente passi il tempo che trascorro insieme con voi scrivendo di spaccati di storia che tanto mi appartengono !

E perciò, velocemente mi congedo, abbracciando tutti voi con l'affetto e la gratitudine che meritate, grazie, 

a presto 💕












BIBLIOGRAFIA:

Peter Beauclerk-Dewar, Roger Powell, Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family,  The History Press, 2008;

Michael De-la-Noy, Queen Victoria at Home, CARROL AND GRAF PUBLISHERS, New York, 2003;

Jane Ridley, Bertie: A Life of Edward VII – International Edition, Vintage Books, 2013.



CITAZIONI:

1 - Michael De-la-Noy, Queen Victoria at Home, CARROL AND GRAF PUBLISHERS, New York, 2003, pag. 145;

2 - op. cit., pag. 141;

3 - op. cit., pag. 139;

4 - op. cit., pag. 153;

5 - op. cit., pag. 151;

6 - op. cit., pag. 161; 

7 - Peter Beauclerk-Dewar, Roger Powell, Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family,  The History Press, 2008, CHAPTER XV - VICTORIAN LOOSE ENDS - Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (1901) (1841 - 1910).









The birth of an heir apparent had been announced by Albert from Buckingham Palace on 9 November 1841.
'You have become an Uncle again' he wrote to his brother 'and this time it is a nephew. Victoria was confined at 10.45 o'clock. Mother and son are well. I am over-tired and have no end of letters to write, therefore I must close.' 
Bertie's birth came as a godsend to the people of Windsor, everyone got 4 pounds of beef, 2 pounds of bread, a pound of plum pudding, a peck of potatoes, 2 pints of ale and a sack of coal. The boys of Derby Grammar School, together with those of Harrow, winchester and Rugby, got and extended holiday.1




- picture 1



It 's true, at that time the Queen had already experienced of giving birth to a baby, which had been well long and difficult: Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, called Vicky, future Empress Federick, born in November of the previous year, entered the world prematurely after 12 hours of labor, as much painful as concrete reason of legitimate concerns ... 'Never mind, the next will be a prince.'2 the Queen told the doctors when they communicated the sex of her first child ... and she was right !

She wanted that the heir was a boy, she did not want that a woman should happen to experience the hardships that she herself was feeling, discomfort which fortunately was much relieved by the constant support of the Prince Consort Albert and his valuable work.

The fact is that it wasn't for sure in the intentions of Queen Victoria to give birth to such an offspring made of nine children - about every 21 months, there was a birth - and although we often may watch her portrayed with loving glance and attitudes towards her babies, actually she hated pregnancy and definitely didn't like children:



- picture 2 - Queen Victoria, Empress Frederick and King Edward VII after a painting by Samuel Cousins (1801 - 1887) 


- picture 3 - 
Queen Victoria, Empress Frederick and King Edward VII by Samuel Cousins (1801 - 1887)



Although Queen Victoria gave birth to nine live children, all of whom survived into adulthood, she had little patience with children unless they both looked and behaved well, and entertained very ambivalent feelings about her own considerable brood. And the older they grew, the more ambivalent her feelings became. She positively detested babies, most probably never having seen one before giving birth to her own first child, Princess Victoria, on 21 November 1840, to whom she wrote eighteen years later to confess that she felt like a cow or a dog when pregnant. Indeed, the whole concept of pregnancy revolted the Queen.

Almost exactly one year separated Bertie (Albert Edward) who was born on November 9th, 1841,



- picture 4 - Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prince Alfred, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1849, detail



from his eldest sister Vicky, with whom he'll always be put in comparison: she was precocious, gifted with a lively intelligence - at the age of two years she already knew not only English, but also mastered German - with a docile temper, he the more unruly and rebellious the more to her was compared (when he was aged two they still had not been able to teach him what a great) ...

The birth of new siblings of his same sex will put him, at first, much more comfortable in the nursery (the fourth child and second son conceived by the British royal couple was Alfred, said Affie, born in Windsor Castle on August 6th, 1844)



- picture 5 - Queen Victoria with her first four children - from left to right: Vicky, Alice, Alfred, Edward Albert (Bertie), by unknown painter



But Vicky will continue to remain the favorite amongst females, for the Queen and especially for Prince Albert, who dreamed for her an unparalleled future (he wanted her to become Empress of Germany and, as wife of Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, she will make his dream come true).



- picture 6 - Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prince Alfred, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1849



Alfred, the most enquiring and gifted of the boys, learned to play the violin in secret, in order to surprise his parents, and he presented another obstacle to Bertie; he was much more persistent in his aims, which appealed to their parents, whereas Bertie spent much of his time in a trance.4

Among the boys, Victoria felt more transported toward Arthur, born on May 1st, 1850 ...



- picture 7 - Prince ArthurFranz Xaver Winterhalter, 1852



she 'had adored little Arthur from the day of his birth' [ ...] 'dearer than all the others put together'.




- picture 8 - Painting of the young Queen Victoria and her children by John Calcott Horsley (1817 - 1903).



Without too many expectations Queen Victoria looked at her Bertie, not knowing what action to take in order to educate and raise him as his rank demanded, his Bertie with such a difficult character ('The only one of all the children who neither drew, wrote, played [ she meant an instrument ]or did anything whatever to show his affection - beyond buying for me a table in Ireland - was Bertie. Oh Bertie, alas ! alas ! That ia too sad a subject to enter on.' ) ... she never stopped trusting new educators, aware that she would be king in the future: he was the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, but already with his adolescence he seemed to show no inclination for this important role that fate had assigned to him.

Often the choices about the educational methods to be adopted for him will put in contrast the royal couple, Albert being more inclined to punishments, Victoria more compassionate and eager to understand the reasons behind the lack of discipline and the so disobedient nature of his character, so much to do undergo him to neurological visits that could clarify something about his brain, maybe a defect in the development or a genetic deficiency ...



- picture 9 - Affie and Bertie in 1855



It is certain that psychology was just seeing its sunrise and no one could, in such an attitude, identify an emotional and social distress which only needed to be treated lovingly ... instead, since he was destined to become king, as per protocol, he was isolated from the rest of his family at the age of seven to live exclusively in the company of guardians and educators, making him, in this way, more easily acculturabile but increasingly reclusive and introverted, unsure of himself, of his own image, of its own way of be, preparing the groundwork for his excessive ambition, which will characterize him as an adult, never sufficiently satisfied with himself, to the point to try to increase more and more his own complacency in ever new adulterous relations.

In fact many were the factors that darkened Bertie's childhood, harsh factors over which he unfortunately could not have any kind of control: in addition to the presence so 'heavy' of his sister Vicky, as mentioned above, he had to live with the anxiety that gave him the fact that his mother always put him in comparison with her beloved husband, Albert, the father who was inexhaustible source of virtues, a model for him, 



- picture 10 - The Family of Queen Victoria, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1846. From left to right: Prince Alfred and the Prince of Wales; the Queen and Prince Albert; Princesses Alice, Helena and Victoria



and the fear of both his parents that he harbored the gene that led many ancestors of the Hanover house to madness ... there is almost to wonder why he has not had a nervous breakdown before and during his adolescence, but, if you let me say, we could say that he chose the parallel street, maybe, indeed, for sure, less painful for him.

Disposed to laziness and vices, so grew the young and noble descendant, and when he reached the age to accomplish, in the company of friends and adequate guardians, duly chosen by his father, the 'grand tour' and some military training away from home, he didn't  miss the chance to also enjoy the first recreations of passionate nature: when he found himself with the Grenadiers at Curragh Camp in Ireland, in the summer of 1861, he met, in fact, Nellie Clifden, an Irish dancer who became his first lover when he was only nineteen, and she was the first of many, I say so many because not even the marriage with Princess Alexandra of Denmark, daughter of Prince Christian IX, got on March 10th, 1863 will stop him from engaging in passionate relationships, more or less prolonged, with married women and not belonging to the upper echelons ... and some thinks that they are more than sixty !



- picture 11 - The Prince of Wales and Alexandra of Denmark wearing riding clothes



News about this ''accident on the way" of the young Prince of Wales reached his parents and Prince Albert was not slow in the following days to join him in Cambridge, where the young man was studying, and, under a heavy rain, argued with him on moral values and on the importance of an irreproachable conduct for his future. Albert died a few months later, and Queen Victoria didn't stop to accuse her son for the death of her husband, it would kill his terrible behavior and the concerns of which it was a source ... she was and she'll remain convinced forever though recent studies seem to support the thesis of a death due to chronic, Krohn's disease, of which he would have suffered, or to an incurable disease of the stomach, but at the time neither the one nor the other could be tested.



- picture 12 - The Prince of Wales' family in 1867: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Alexandra, Princess of Wales holding Louise, Princess Royal, Edward, Prince of Wales holding on his knees George V.



But let's read together this excerpt from the book, which is entitled Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family who gives us an idea, even if entirely relative, of the supposed illegitimate children and of the extramarital relationships which Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, better known as King Edward VII, had with the many mistresses that were part of his life, a subject that is something like a second paragraph of my writing, being the second part of his life almost an obvious consequence of the so emotionally tense atmosphere which he lived during his childhood in.


The late Theo Aronsen, in his book 'The king in Love - Edward VII's mistresses' delved almost assiduously into any offspring that the king may have had as did Raymond Lamont-Brown in his book Edward VII's Last Loves - Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser (1998).
As was fashionable at the time, most of his lovers were respectable married women who, rightly or wrongly, passed off their offspring, by whomsoever begotten, as the children of their husband. It is therefore very difficult for us to determine paternity with any certainty, as there is often nothing other than circumstancial evidence to rely upon for DNA had not then been discovered.

The king's three official mistresses, all married, in conological order, Lily Langtry, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, and Alice Keppel, but whereas there were undoubtedly many Royal 'felings' we cannot be certain that any of these have led to any further Royal Bastards possibly as a result of a bout of syphilis he is alleged to have had. Nevertheless, there are a number of claimants.

In his book The Fox Hunters of Vanity Fair, Gordon Fergusson states that Edward's mistresses were innumerable and included among their number Patsy Cornwallis-West, whose son George Frederik Myddleton Cornwallis-West ( who later married the widowed Lady Randolph Churchill ) was born on 14 November 1874. He was a godson of the Prince and was grandson of the Marquess of Headford. Patsy was a court favourite and it si said that George had been fathered by the Prince in the woods at Eaton whilst staying with the Duke of Westminster. An estate worker's little girl had 'seen the Prince on top of her'. However as might the be expected, there is no reference to this Royal paternity in Burke's Peerage ( see de la Warr, E ).

Then there was the child of the 5th Duke of Newcastle's daughter, Lady Susan Vane Tempest, née Pelham-Clinton, born in 1871, for whose upbringing the Prince was asked to contribute. Others mentioned were the son of Princesse Jeanne de Sagan, later Duchesse de Talleyrand-perigord, who may have had a Royal father, after a dalliance in 1873 when the Prince visited the Chateau de Mello, south of Paris.

Olga, later Baroness de Mayer, the daughter of Blanche, Duchess di Caracciola, is said to have been the Prince's favorite illegitimate child and that she was conceived on one of the Prince's visits to Dieppe, where she was brought up discreetly. It is further said that Olga went on to become one of Winnarata, Princesse de Polignac's lovers, long before violet Keppel/Trefusis shared her bed. Some claim that Roderick Ross, the Chief Constable of Edinburgh and Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, head of the Secret Intelligence Service, upon whom 'C' of James Bond fame was modeled, where both sons of the Prince. 

Then there was Sophie, wife of Colonel W.Hall Walker who used to receive the King ingognito as The Duke of Lancaster, even tought he was thirty-five years her senior; and also Grace Foster, née Bloomfield, of Co. Fermanagh who had a son Stewart Arthur Forster ( who was born 30 August 1839 ) and thought by some to be the Prince's son. Apparently Stewart was teased a lot at Wincester about his paternity and the effect that his father appeared upon so much of the coinage of the Realm, yet his children now deny knowing anything about it at all ! There was also Miss Margot Thorold of Boothby Hall in Lincolnshire and and Cora Pearl who liked to be dished upon a silver platter à la nue.. The Duchesse de Mouchy, the sultry divorcee and Sarah Bernhardt were also paramours and the list goes on. 7

Amongst the other names now known there are that of Hortense Schneider, a French soprano, and Lady Forbes, who were lovers of the monarch in the years 1867-1868, Catherine Schneider, one of the courtesans of the time, that 'lived at court' in 1870 and even that of Caroline Otero, who had an affair with the king in 1897.



- picture 13 - King Edward VII ( unknown painter )



This was THE PEACEMAKER OF EUROPE o ONCLE DE L'EUROPE, given the numerous family ties that bound him to the main royal families of Europe, from the Soviet to the German one, to the Greek, to the Spanish one, and so on, who, politically speaking, after being crowned king in 1901, was characterized by a really irreproachable conduct.

Please, forgive my verbosity, but certain topics, as you know, solicit my enthusiasm and I do not notice how quickly the time I spend with you is going on, while writing about such historical ages that I feel to belong to !

And therefore, I'm leaving you quickly, embracing all of you with the affection and the gratitude you deserve, thanks,

see you soon 💕










BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Peter Beauclerk-Dewar, Roger Powell, Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family,  The History Press, 2008;

Michael De-la-Noy, Queen Victoria at Home, CARROL AND GRAF PUBLISHERS, New York, 2003;

Jane Ridley, Bertie: A Life of Edward VII – International Edition, Vintage Books, 2013.



QUOTATIONS:

1 - Michael De-la-Noy, Queen Victoria at Home, CARROL AND GRAF PUBLISHERS, New York, 2003, pag. 145;

2 - op. cit., pag. 141;

3 - op. cit., pag. 139;

4 - op. cit., pag. 153;

5 - op. cit., pag. 151;

6 - op. cit., pag. 161; 

7 - Peter Beauclerk-Dewar, Roger Powell, Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family,  The History Press, 2008, CHAPTER XV - VICTORIAN LOOSE ENDS - Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (1901) (1841 - 1910).




LINKING WITH:

68 commenti:

  1. querida Daniela:
    toda vez que venho aqui , tenho uma pausa e viajo no tempo.
    reflito de como a vida foi no passado, as vezes olhando as pinturas e fotos a gente nem imagina como isso já foi vida real.
    Vida real com todos os seus dramas, expectativas e sofrimentos ..
    muito interessante seu blog e seus posts !!
    grande abraço querida amiga !!
    :o)
    Eliane.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Eliane
      muito obrigada pela visita tão carinhosa, prezada amiga !

      *♥* Boa semana e tudo de bom *♥*

      Elimina
  2. What a fascinating post! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Marci
      what a delight to welcome you here today, thank you dear friend, your words of appreciation fill my heart with joy !

      May your day be as lovely as you, sweetie,
      and enjoy the remainder of your week with gladness ❥

      Elimina
  3. Such an amazing post, dear Daniela, and the images are fantastic!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Linda
      I'm so very grateful for your so beautiful words, they put a smile on my face, thank you, wonderful friend, you cannot imagine what they mean to me !

      Hope you're having a beautiful day, today,
      I'm sending blessings of joy on your days to come,
      I cherish you so much ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  4. Dear Dany, this was so enlightening. I've read quite a bit about him, but most of this was new material for me. And it's a wonderful collection of photos!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Jean
      precious friend, I'm so very glad to read in your words that I have captured your interest with this writing of mine, and that you've enjoyed the images I've published - most of them are by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, he was truly a master in portraying royals during the Victorian age, every painting of his is a masterpiece !

      With utmost gratitude for gracing my blog today,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you,
      may your weekend ahead be as lovely as you, dearie ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  5. My goodness -- after such a celebrated birth, the poor guy didn't really have a very happy life. I don't condone his behavior as an adult, but I do feel sorry for him! I didn't realize how much Queen Victoria hated being a mother. That is sad as well.
    Thank you Dani -- A Beautiful collection of pictures and interesting history.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Sallie
      sweet friend of mine, yes, Victoria didn't like children at all and in so many occasions didn't miss to underline it, she loved her husband and loved to be a married woman, to be a wife, but she didn't like that ... consequence of sleeping with her beloved Albert, that's all !

      As for Bertie, of course, his life as an adult wasn't so faultless and to be admired, but maybe it came after his so sad childhood, most of which he lived in seclusion, poor darling child ...

      Thank you dearie both for visiting and for your so interested comment, I so love to have you here !

      Sending hugs and ever much love to you ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  6. Dearest Daniela, your posts are always so interesting and fascinating! The photos are stunning and always make me dream along some pleasant minutes. Thank you so much for that!
    Wishing you a fabulous weekend!
    Hugs and love from Portugal,
    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Ana
      thanks most sincerely for the joy you gave me as a present with your so beautiful words of amusement, you've filled my heart to overflowing, sweetie !

      May the end of your week ahead be filled with all the gladness you deserve,
      with utmost gratitude ༺❀༻

      Elimina
  7. Oh wow, first it is so sad that she didn't like being pregnant when she had so many kids and I didn't know she didn't really care for them. I wonder if sending him away was a good idea, that may be why he had so many affairs, looking for love or belonging to someone or something. Wow that is so sad the amount of children that are out there that did not know their real parent, or were teased by it.
    I wish you a most enjoyable and lovely weekend ahead!!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Conniecrafter
      that's what I also think, dearie, to send him away, even if that was a rule dictated by the protocol of the heir to the throne, I think was the straw that broke the camel, for he, as you say, to cut any kind of bond with his family meant to put him amongst the arms of the first women he found !

      Thanks most sincerely for visiting today, my lovely lady, you always bring the sunshine here !

      Hope you're having the best of weeks,
      I'm thinking of you with much, so much love ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  8. gorgeous images and a quite fascinating history lesson! i did not know the queen disliked babies so! i wonder if she knew where they came from...? anyway thanks for sharing. i wish you happiness and a wonderful weekend. thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind words. take good care. xo

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Michele
      you wonder if she knew where babies came from ... you put a smile on my face with these words of yours, darling, but maybe she didn't, as first, for before giving birth to her first baby, Vicky, she had never seen a baby child, she was the first baby she saw in her life !

      Thanking you wholeheartedly for the time you spent here with us and hoping you enjoyed it, I'm sending you my dearest love across the many miles ♥∗✿*✿∗♥

      Elimina
  9. Ma cara Daniela, è talmente evidente la passione che metti in questi tuoi posts davvero coinvolgenti e così ricchi di dettagli e di storia.
    Povero il giovane Bertie, proprio non dev'essere stata un'infanzia spensierata la sua. Sono splendidi i ritratti che ci mostri e che allietano magistralmente il tuo racconto.
    Grazie cara amica, ti auguro un sereno fine settimana d'autunno.
    Susanna

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Susanna
      carissima, ti ringrazio davvero di cuore, sono felicissima di leggere che il mio entusiasmo appare così nettamente dai miei scritti e lo sono ancor più nel leggere che perciò risultano attraenti e trascinanti ... grazie ancora !

      Contraccambio con tanto affetto e tanta ammirazione il tuo augurio, che i giorni a venire siano prodighi di serenità anche per te mia dolce amica ❀≼♥≽❀

      Elimina
  10. Le tue righe mi hanno appassionata come al solito. Certamente Bertie non ebbe un' infanzia facile e spensierata...Stupende le immagini che ci hai proposto.
    Bacioni Alessandra

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    1. @ Alessandra
      non immagini il piacere e la gioia con cui sempre ti accolgo e leggo le tue bellissime parole, grazie di tutto cuore, mia cara !

      Che la tua serata scorra serena e che il tuo weekend porti tanta gioia con sé per te e per i tuoi cari che ti sono accanto ❥

      Elimina
  11. Ciao Daniela ho letto con interesse il tuo post!. La vita di questi sovrani nel bene o nel male è sempre terribilmente affascinante!! Più che mai attuale il tuo argomento visto che è appena finita la prima serie TV di Victoria! Dobbiamo aspettare la seconda serie per sentir parlare di Bertie!
    Ti abbraccio cara, buon weekend:)

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Valeria
      carissima, che gioia averti qui e leggere che condividiamo anche la passione per le vite dei reali che hanno vissuto il passato, leggere che anche tu sei così sensibile al carisma che emanano !

      Contraccambio con immensa letizia il tuo abbraccio, che ti accompagni per ciò che rimane di questo Venerdì di inizio autunno e per il weekend che si sta approssimando, grazie ancora ♥♡♥

      Elimina
  12. Dear Daniela...such a fascinating history! I enjoyed reading all this very much. And such wonderful artwork and photos representing the royal family. It's a fascinating family indeed, and Bertie, not in the least!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Marie
      you're so heartily welcome, thank you dear, lovely friend for your so beautiful comment !

      Very happy for your enjoyment, I'm sending blessings of joy on your coming weekend, may it be filled with so many little things which to be glad for •♥•♥•♥•

      Elimina
  13. Loved all of the paintings of Victoria and her family. So sad she didn't like children considering she had so many. Childbirth in those days must have been quite horrendous and dangerous.
    A great and enlightening history lesson Daniela.
    Have a truly wonderful weekend :)x

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Prunella
      I also suppose that she didn't like children just for the danger which labor and birth represented, and probably because she couldn't follow so many things at once, she had such important tasks as monarch and the things of everyday life, which are so precious for each of us, were something more, indeed, too much more for her, as source of further problem and concerns ...
      Honestly she used to say that as a child she had an experience which hit and shocked her: one day, walking in Frogmore, a lot of frogs jumped amongst her feet and she cried loudly for the scare she felt and said that little children seem all frogs while moving during their first months of life !

      Thanking you heartily for your loveliness and the sweetness of your nature,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you,
      may your weekend be blessed with gladness ~ ✿*✿ ~

      Elimina
  14. Bellissime immagini che ci trasportano in tempi lontani!Come sempre insieme a te usciamo dal nostro secolo e viaggiamo all'indietro!Un bacione cara, gentile Daniela!Rosetta

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Rosetta
      carissima amica, essere definita gentile da una persona con l'animo nobile e delicato come il tuo quasi mi commuove, te ne sono sinceramente grata !

      Che il tuo fine settimana porti con sé tanta serenità, te lo auguro con affetto, ammirazione e gratitudine ღ❀ღ

      Elimina
  15. Oh my goodness, such an interesting history! I truly enjoyed reading it. Thanks so much, Daniela, for sharing at Vintage Charm. xoKathleen

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Kathleen
      it's my pleasure and delight linking my posts with your so lovely party, darling friend, indeed, it is I who want to thank you for your kindness and for your words of amusement, filling my heart with joy !

      Wishing you a most wonderful weekend ever,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  16. Hello, Dear Daniela,
    I am learning quite a lot about history reading your beautiful blog! I am so surprised about Queen Victoria not being particularly 'Motherly' as she was so celebrated in Victorian life as the model of Motherly devotion! Certainly children do suffer the failings of their parents and this seems to be the case here, as well. I think many men of power and notoriety do live a life lacking in morality, so I am not surprised. It seems a shame to me that so much energy was wasted in these selfish pursuits when they could have been put to better use serving humanity. But alas.....even modern times reflect the same attitudes, unfortunately. I am hoping this is not the case for my own upcoming presidential election....! Lovely paintings that you have shared of this beautiful, if flawed, royal family and we can see the potential that was not there. Thank you for another very interesting and lovely post, my friend.
    Sending hugs to you xo
    Karen

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Karen
      I'm overjoyed by reading your words of amusement, darling, what a gift to me this morning !
      You're right, so many, if not every men of power, have spent their times lacking in morality, maybe for several reasons, but that was the thing !

      I wish you that your presidential election may carry out in the best of ways, for a future which can be better for us all, we all hope in a better world, don't we ?

      Sending blessings on the remainder of your week,
      and much, so much love across the many miles *•♥*♥•*

      Elimina
  17. Meine liebste Daniela,
    deine interessanten Post bereiten mir eine große Freude und bereichern mein Wissen über die damalige Zeit, die mich sehr interessiert.
    Gerade über Queen Victoria lese ich gerne. Sie war eine sehr offene Mutter für ihre neun Kinder.
    Hab einen wunderbaren Herbst,meine Liebe.
    Es grüßt dich,
    Manuela

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Manuela
      Sehr geliebte Freundin, Ich bin sehr, sehr froh, deine wörter zu lesen, und danke dir mit meinen Herz !

      ♡❤♡ Liebe und herzliche Grüße ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  18. You could have gone on for hours and hours, pages and pages on this topic, as far as I'm concerned. I'm fascinated with the British royal family beginning with Victoria and her children to the present day. I love and appreciate your well researched and eloquent writing. More?

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Jeanie
      ... more ? To be honest your words left me speechless, I'm truly confused by such an enthusiasm ... thank you dearest friend, you put a sweet smile on my face to begin my day with, you're always so generous with me !

      Hope you're having the best of weeks,
      I'm sending blessings of joy on your coming days,
      with utmost gratitude ಌ❀ಌ

      Elimina
  19. Daniela, I have a special place in my heart for Queen Victoria. Have you seen the film with Emily Blunt playing Victoria? It's a feast for the eyes! You have such a gift for bringing history to life, my lovely. Thankyou. Mimi xxx

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Mimi
      oh yes, I've watched it on TV last year and I felt so charmed with it, with all the costumes and settings ... just a dream, that's one of those films I'd love to watch at least twice a year !
      You're so generous with me, dear, your words touch deeply my heart, thank you ...

      Hope your weekend may be as Beautiful as you,
      I'm sending blessings of joy on your days to come ❥

      Elimina
  20. As always a very fascinating and knowledgeable post, filled with information about Queen Victoria and Prince Bertie that I didn't know before. Loved the pictures of the Queen with young Vicky and baby Albert.
    Happy Mosaic Monday.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Maggie
      thanks most sincerely for your so welcome words of appreciation, dearest friend of mine, they put a smile on my face !

      Wishing you a most wonderful weekend ever,
      I'm sending hugs and more hugs to you,
      thank you again ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  21. Poor Bertie had a lively love life! :) But his childhood was really unhappy. I have seen a tv-series, probably by BBC telling about Queen Victoria's feelings towards her children. She pretty much hated them, Prince Albert was her only love. And all the rest of her life she accused Bertie for the death of her husband! At that royal family the children didn't get mother's love, father Albert did love them fortunately. She dressed black the rest of her life and mourned wholeheartedly her spouse. Poor children I would say!

    Dear Dany, thank you again for this interesting post! Wishing you lovely October days & hugs.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ riitta
      first of all, let me thank you for your always so clever comments, I appreciate them so, so much, dearie !
      You're right, Victoria had in Albert the true and only love of her life and probably when she became a widow - she was just 42 - she begun to appreciate her children, Baby Bee was still a little girl but didin't seem a frog anymore (ツ) and all the others born before her were all adults and if not yet, almost adults, so she had with them another kind of relationship ... she wasn't a mother, but a widow Queen needing their presence and moral help.

      Thanking you again so so much, I'm sending all my love to you,
      may your weekend be rich in achievement and gladness •♥•♥•♥•

      Elimina
  22. Marvelous post, Dany. You are so kind to share all your wonderful research with us. I love posts like this ... I learn so much. Thank you and have a lovely week.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Snap
      your words gratify me so much, sweet friend, actually you cannot imagine how much you fill my heart with them !

      Thanking you again for your appreciation blessing my day,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  23. mia dolce amica, è sempre piacevole leggere i tuoi post, imparo tante cose nuove e con la mente torno agli splendori della corte inglese, le tue immagini mi aiutano in questo! Ti auguro una serena settimana colma di gioia Lory

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Lory
      ed ormai anche questa settimana è alfine giunta al suo termine, carissima, e ti abbraccio con il cuore per ringraziarti infinitamente ed augurarti giorni sereni con cui concludere ciò che rimane del mese di ottobre ... quanto corre il tempo !

      ⊰♥⊱ Un bacio grande ⊰♥⊱

      Elimina
  24. That was fascinating. I've read many things about Queen Victoria and her lack of motherly compassion and her need to control her children, even as adults xx

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Cherylmylittlepieceofengland
      your words of appreciation and amusement are such a precious gift to me, I'm so very grateful to you sweet friend !

      Wishing you all my best for your coming weekend ༺♡❀♡༻

      Elimina
  25. Hello Dany, I enjoy reading about the royal family. Especially the children and learning about their lives. Wonderful post, thanks for sharing. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ eileeninmd
      I'm so very glad to read your enjoyment in your words, dearest friend of mine, thanks most sincerely !

      Hope you're having a lovely Saturday,
      I'm sending hugs and ever much love to you ❥

      Elimina
  26. Always so lovely to hear such interesting history from you, and I do appreciate the huge amount of time and effort you put into sharing what you have learned! I had no idea that Victoria felt so about her children, nor the struggles with Bertie. I trust you are doing well my dear Dany, always such a delight to visit with you here :) Hugs to you today!

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ SpicingUpIdaho
      a delight is to welcome you here, dearest Marilyn, and to read your so beautiful words of appreciation, I'm sincerely overjoyed by having pleased you !

      May your weekend be filled with all the gladness you deserve, sweetie,
      blessed be ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  27. The British royal children had rather unpleasant upbringings until Diana took matters in hand regarding her own children. One can only imagine what effects a rather unloving and demanding mother would have had on poor Bertie. He did seem to come around later in life. A fascinating post about a really interesting family.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Lorrie
      you're right, Diana gave birth to a new course in so many matters, that's why people loved her so much ... and the monarchs, so conservative, a little less ... and for the first time, probably, British Royal Children grew up like in all the other aristocratic families.

      Thanks most sincerely for having let me do, with your comment, this so interesting reflection, dearest friend !

      Wishing you a most wonderful weekend ever ❀≼♥≽❀

      Elimina
  28. Hello Dany, As always I have great interest in your stories of kings, queens and this was particularly interesting. I can only imagine how many children were born to Bertie's dalliances. Such was the life of the prince of whales. Good thing the nine children had plenty of instruction while growing up other than a mother who disliked her children. Strange to think about it now.

    Thank you for my birthday wishes and your sweet comment dear Dany,and have a blessed week.
    Hugs, Jeanne

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Jeanne
      I'm so grateful to you, sweetest friend of mine, for gracing my blog today, your inner beauty 'enlights' this page of mine !

      As for the Royal Children, I also think that it was their fortune to be grown by someone else, their mother wasn't so ... motherly ... and today so many women cannot live without a children in their life, it's truly incredible, really !

      With utmost gratitude I'm sending hugs & ever much love to you,
      may your weekend be filled with plenty of joy ✿*✿

      Elimina
  29. cara dany
    colti e raffinati i tuoi post sulle biografie dei monarchi inglesi.
    mi piacciono i ritratti nobiliari delle casate, così austeri così chic..
    buona serata
    daniela

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ daniela
      carissima, non trovo le parole per ringraziarti ed esprimerti quanta gioia il tuo commento mi elargisca, mi fa davvero onore !

      Lieta, anzi, più che lieta di averti donato una lettura piacevole ed appagante, ti abbraccio augurandoti un sereno prosieguo di questo ultimo weekend di ottobre,
      a presto •♥•♥•♥•

      Elimina
  30. This is such an interesting post, Dany, and you have chosen such beautiful images for it. As always, it is such a pleasure to visit you here, sweet friend.
    Sending you hugs from across the ocean.
    xo.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Lisa
      how absolutely delightful of you to write such beautiful words, thank you, dearie, my heart is filled to overflowing !

      Enjoy this last weekend of October with gladness,
      sending blessings and hugs, many hugs to you ஐ*❀*ஐ

      Elimina
  31. My sweet Dany, once again you have swept me away to another time and place. I was completely fascinated by the history you shared....my, to not like babies! I cannot imagine! :)

    Blessings, love, and joy to you dearest friend.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Stephanie
      so I managed to take you back in time once more, my dearest, thank you !
      Yes, it may seems quite strange and unusual, thinking that she loved her husband so much, furthermore, but Queen Victoria didn't like to give birth to her offspring, in spite they were all so very beautiful, healty and darling ...

      I'm reciprocating your good wish, it's far too beautifu,
      God bless you ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  32. I love the history you share. I learn so much. You are a wonderful teacher my friend.
    I think the royals do not live a real life like the rest of us and their lives do not turn out well much of the time.
    Very sad for them really.
    Hugs

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ annie
      dearie, when you say that I'm a wonderful teacher you pay to me the most beautiful compliment you could ever think, and I wonder if my pupils have ever thought it ... actually, history that we have to teach in our schools is quite different, but my passion is the same, I let myself drive by it there and here, believe me ... thank you, my Lovely Lady !
      And I do agree with you, I also think that some centuries ago royals had privileges and lived lives which were better than all other people's, in more recent times things have cheanged for them too, and I don't envy them at all, I wouldn't change my life with that of one of them !

      Sending much love to you, dearest, cherished friend of mine,
      may it accompany you during this last weekend of October ❥

      Elimina
  33. Wow, 60 affairs is way too many for one person! Love the pictures, though. I was reminded of a story involving my grandfather's relatives which I wrote about in 2007. I found it by Googling my great-uncle's name and it was a surprise to me.

    RispondiElimina
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    1. @ Linda
      yes, 60 love stories are far too many ... definitely !
      I'm sorry to have reminded you this story you get to know just Googling, if it is still a reason of perplexity and anguish, please forgive me, it wasn't my will, really... dearie !

      Wishing you a most beautiful weekend ever,
      I thank you so, so much, as usual,
      your visits always bless my heart, sweet friend *♥*✥*♥*

      Elimina
    2. No anguish, dear. I was rather surprised but amused really.

      Elimina
    3. @ Linda
      you're truly an angel, your kindness makes my day, thank you ✿⊱╮

      MUCH LOVE

      Elimina

I THANK YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND WORDS, SO PRECIOUS TO ME.