Take the fast road to history and check some of these famous mistresses. I did the research, I'll let you have the fun!
copyright IRPA-KIK Brussels
Famous Mistress of the king of France Charles VII (who reigned 1422-1461): Agnes Sorel. You can ask any kid in France if they know who is Charles VII, they probably don't. But most will know who is Joan of Arc (who fought the English for that king) and quite a number will have heard about Agnes Sorel, his mistress. What made the eternal glory of Sorel is a painting by Jean Fouquet, representing her as the Madonna with a naked breast, and surrounded by red and blue angels, The museum is here. If you think this portrait is shocking and very strange, you are not alone: it has been commented upon for centuries. Read (in German) Jean Fouquet: An der Schwelle zur Renaissance by Claude Schaefer. Consult also A King's Mistress; Or Charles VII and Agnes Sorel, and Chivalry in the fifteenth Century by M. Capefigue. Agnes Sorel's tomb is in the chateau de Loches, in France, a prestigious town. You might try the atmosphere of this movie: Joan of Arc (1999) Starring: Leelee Sobieski, Jacqueline Bisset Director: Christian Duguay
Mistress of of king of France François Ier (reigned 1515- 1547) who was the first Renaissance king and a protector of Leonardo da Vinci. It is an interesting period all around with the terrifying Henry VIII in Britain and Charles Quint over most of Europe. Francois had many mistresses and French history abounds in terrifying stories about the revenge of betrayed husbands on their wives. Whatever happened, the name of one of his mistresses was given by mistake to this beautiful painting of da Vinci la belle ferronnierre. You might like to read Prince of the Renaissance: The Golden Life of Francois I. by Desmond Seward. On the period in general : Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King
Mistresses of Henry VIII (reigned over England 1509-1547) The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
We should not deprive ourselves of great authors: Henry VIII by William Shakespeare(this is a good edition).
Mistress of Charles Quint, 1519-1558 who, as one web site puts it bravely, was "ruler of Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and America" Emperor of vast territories, he used to say "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse." For a reason that I ignore, but you should be more curious than me, one mistress made it to posterity and appears in several books and plays: Barbara Blomberg by Georg Ebers
Mistress of French king Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1715) Louise de la Valliere, a good book for adults with the musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and the spicy memoirs of Saint-Simon: Memoirs of Duc de Saint-Simon, 1710-1715: The Bastards Triumphant
Mistress of French king Louis XV (reigned 1715-1774 but from 1715 to 1723 there was a dissolute Regency). Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford and Amanda Foreman or The Portraits of Madame de Pompadour: Celebrating the Femme Savante by Elise Goodman. A semi-legend says that becoming older, the king paid virgin young mistresses to satisfy him at a cottage called the Parc-aux-Cerfs. His last mistress Madame du Barry remained in our memories because she was killed during the French Revolution, her last words being "One minute more, please, one little moment."Du Barry was not a traitor to France, just somebody who loved to have a good time. I read her memoirs once, cant recall anything interesting. You might try Madame du Barry: The Wages of Beauty by Joan Haslip
Mistress of American President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Jefferson in Paris (1995) Starring: Nick Nolte, Gwyneth Paltrow, Thandie Newton; Director: James Ivory
To be frank, I have been disappointed in Jefferson. No movie in the world will change my opinion on the rape of a minor slave, "consenting" or not.
Mistress of British duke of Clarence, future William IV (reigned 1830-1837) Mrs. Jordan's Profession: The Actress and the Prince by Claire Tomalin. Mrs Jordan had ten children from the king who left her in misery.
Mistress of Belgian king Leopold II (reigned 1865-1909): Cleo de Merode. I could not find her memoirs in English (it is not very interesting anyway), but I recommend the book of Colette, Gigi, that she probably inspired, a short novel by Colette
Mistress of the Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria: Baroness Mary Vetsera(they committed suicide or were killed at Mayerling in 1889) The Prince was the only son of Francois-Joseph emperor of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi) who was assassinated in 1898. Fifty years after the death of Prince Rudolf, and a long time before YouTube and the paparazzi, the mystery of Mayerling was still discussed in every European family: I still remember my grandmother describing the large bosom of Mary Vetsera! Prince Rudolf was married to princess Stephanie of Belgium daughter of king Leopold II . The princess was not refined like the Austrians of the time and was often humiliated and called "the Flemish peasant". Mayerling (1968) Starring: Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve Director: Terence Young, A new, very interesting version is The Illusionist (2006) Starring: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti Director: Neil Burger
Mistress of British king Edward VIII (reigned 1936) King Edward abandoned the throne for the love of Mrs Simpson, the story says. There was a beautiful slightly ironic creole song :'It was love love love, love alone that made king Edward leave his throne" sung by Harry Belafonte, The series. Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1980) Starring: Edward Fox, Cynthia Harris Director: Waris Hussein. It is very well played, but it is not a very interesting subject: the couple lacked substance.
Mistresses of recent times. Well, even public figures should be entitled to a bit of privacy during their lifetime. I remember that, when the Prince of Wales was in holidays in France, some photographer succeeded in shooting through a bathroom window and got a picture of the prince Charles naked. One French journal published the picture on first page with a gold spot hiding his private parts. The reader could scratch the gold, as for a lottery ticket, to have access to a full view. Nobody deserves that.
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