There is something about the word mistress. It carries with it centuries of weight and meaning, and a whole world of unspoken sentiment. For the royal mistress those unspoken sentiments are magnified, and every move made by the woman at the side of a monarch takes on a new significance in the eyes of those who know them, who seek to profit from them, or who oppose them.
In Melusine von der Schulenberg and Henrietta Howard we see two women who circumstance and time dictated were to become the mistresses of powerful, deeply flawed men. Swept up in events that changed the face of the country and sometimes even the world, they were a quiet constant in the lives of George I and George II. One became as good as a wife, a lifelong companion who bore her partner three children and commanded the most ambitious courtiers as surely as any queen. The other was driven by different impulses, seeking safety and security as she fled a husband who had mistreated her for years. Yet in Melusine and Henrietta, there were as many similarities as there were differences. They survived by playing the game of court politics in their own way, by soothing bad-tempered royal brows and enduring criticism and suspicion not only from those who knew them, but also from those strangers who sought to condemn them as women who had dared to rise above their station.
Melusine and Henrietta were not the only mistresses of their respective kings, but they made an indelible impression on the royal households that knew them. Today the Duchess of Kendal and the Countess of Suffolk are as intriguing as ever. Their lives tell us much about the lot of the female favourite and the monarchs who they served. Few had better access to the ear of the sovereign than they did, and few career politicians could boast their diplomatic skills. They set the stage for a great many mistresses to come.
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Newspapers
All newspaper clippings are reproduced © The British Library Board; in addition to those cited, innumerable newspapers were consulted.
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British Journal. 5 June 1725; issue 142.
British Journal. 24 June 1727; issue 248.
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Daily Courant. 7 August, 1714; issue 3990.
Daily Gazetteer. 24 April 1745; issue 5017.
Daily Journal. 18 May 1722; issue CCCCXII
Daily Journal. 31 May 1723; issue 735.
Daily Journal. 20 September 1727; issue 2086.
Daily Journal. 24 April 1730; issue 2901.
Daily Post. 15 June 1727; issue 2411.
Daily Post. 1 August 1728.
General London Evening Mercury. 1 November 1756; issue 549.
Grub Street Journal. 7 January 1731; issue 53.
London Evening Post. 29 May 1729–31 May 1729; issue 231.
London Evening Post. 22 June 1731–24 June 1731; issue 557.
London Evening Post. 12 July 1735–15 July 1735; issue 1194.
London Evening Post. 10 May 1743–12 May 1743; issue 2419.
London Evening Post. 28 July 1767–30 July 1767; issue 4473.
London Gazette. 29 March 1715–2 April 1715; issue 5316.
London Gazette. 29 May 1725–1 June 1725; issue 6377.
Mist’s Journal. 27 May 1721.
Original Weekly Journal. 23 April 1720.
Original Weekly Journal. 28 May 1720.
Post Boy. 21 March 1700–23 March 1700; issue 773.
Post Boy. 12 January 1723–15 January 1723; issue 5224.
Post Man and the Historical Account. 3 July 1716–5 July 1716; issue 11250.
Present State of Europe or the Historical and Political Mercury. 1 May, 1692.
St James’s Evening Post. 29 September 1733–2 October 1733; issue 2859.
Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer. 9 May 1719.
Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer. 30 December 1727; issue 138.
Weekly Journal or Saturday’s Post. 12 August 1721; issue 141.
Wrexham Weekly Advertiser. 2 June 1888; volume 40.
Websites Consulted
British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk)
British Newspapers 1600–1950 (http://gdc.gale.com/products/19th-centurybritish-library-newspapers-part-i-and-part-ii/)
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