cahn

Last post, we had (among other things) Danish kings and their favorites; Louis XIV and Philippe d'Orléans; reviews of a very shippy book about Katte, a bad Jacobite novel, and a great book about clothing; a fic about Émilie du Châtelet and Voltaire; and a review of a set of entertaining Youtube history videos about Frederick the Great.

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From:

selenak

I reviewed a book about Georgian courtiers and my journal, which was enjoyable to read and features several old acquaintances of hours (in addition the Hannover cousins, I mean) and some new ones. I already talked at my journal of how this puts Lady Hervey aka Molly Lepell into a new light. Now, because of our wondering how G2 marrying Hervey's teenage daughter would have fared, you can imagine how I felt when coming across the following saga, taking place long after Hervey's death, though (Hervey died in the early 1740s).

Background: when Caroline died, G2 famously swore he would never marry again, he would have mistresses. Now, he already had one, whom he'd picked up during his most recent vacation at Hannover, but brought to Britain only after Caroline's death. Because of the small collection of names to choose from (sarcasm alert), she was called Amalie, Countess von Waldenburg, and later Lady Yarmouth. By all accounts placid, pretty, and able to put up with G2's temper as well as being actually a pretty good inofficial stepmom to his children, making peace (she even tried with Fritz of Wales, but that was just impossible) after family quarrels. However, the English courtiers regarded the fact he picked a German as much as a national insult as they had done when G1 arrived with Melusine in tow, and every time G2 had a brief fling with an English lady, said Brit was immediately declared to be the one who would oust the German and become Maitresse en Titre, because everyone knew Germans were boring in bed, and how could G2 NOT prefer an Englishwoman!

His first short time English mistress was Mary Deloraine, who was the former governess of his daughters (who were horrified by this), but that was a disaster which quickly ended when one of the courtiers pulled the chair away from her while she sat down and G2 laughed, upon which Mary D. retaliated by pulling the chair away from him the next time he sat down to see how he liked it, forgetting he had haemmorids. It was incredibly painful and the instant end of their relationship, to the great disappointment of the English courtiers.

A few years later, and here we return to the Hervey clan...

Elizabeth Chudley first entered court circles when she was appointed as Maid of Hnour to "Princess Prudence", Augusta, who was married to 'poor' Frederick, Prince of Wales. Shoon afterwards sh met Augustus Hervey, Molly's sailor son. In a strange echo of Molly's own story, in 1744 Augustus and Elizabeth entered into a rushed and passionate marriage, a 'scrambling shabby business' that was kept secret from both of their families bevcause it was a form of financial suicide for both of them. Jut like Molly, Elizabeth would have lost her job as Maid of Hnour if she were known to be married.
In September 1747, Elizabeth obtained a short leave of absence from her post in order to give birth secretly to a short-lived son. Augusts was now spending long periods at sea. By New Year 1749, he and Elizabeth had decided to split. (...) Later the couple would deny that they had ever been married, but a few witnesses insisted otherwise. (Elizabeth would go on trial for bigamy; the Victorian Hervey descendant who cut out the Fritz of Wales passages from his memoirs also wielded the scissors in Augustus' diary, so while it's clear he and Elizabeth were an item it's not clear whether or not they ever married.)
The Year 1749, and the rodwy celebrations of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, brought Molly's daughter-in-law (or daughter-in-sin) to prominence. Still claiming to be an unmarried Maid of Honour, Elizabeth created a sensation at a m asquerade at Sumerset House by appearing in a vestigial costume as Iphigenia, ready (un)dressed for the sacrifice at Aulis.
The masquerade included an old man who asked if she would be kind enough to let him give her a squeeze. The king's disguise failed to conceal his identity, so Elizabeth took advantage of the situation for a piece of charming cheek. Grabbing his hand, 'she replied that she would put it to a still softer place, and immediately raised it to his royal forehead'.
Invevitably George II was smitten, and with this a new claimant to the title of chief mistress entered the running. The insolent Elizabeth was overheard declaring that Amalie was dismissed and that she was delighted to belong 'to a King who turns off an old mistress when he has a new one' rataher than keeping both of them on the go simultanously. (...) Elizabeth' smother was awared the lucrative position of housekeeper at Windsor Castle, and Elizabeth herself was distinguished in a drawing-room circle, 'against all precedent', with a kiss from the king. Marvellous vistas of power openened up: 'why should not experience and a charming face on her side, and near seventy years on his, produce a title?'
But Mistress Chudleigh had overreached herself. Amalie was not dismissed, George II tired of his liason - if indeed it really was one - , and Elizabeth had to console herself with the second string on her bow, the Duke of Kingston, whom she now persuaded to marry her. And she enjoyed life as a duchess, at least until the unresolved matter of her possible previous marriage to Augustus Hervey came to light. London was thrilled by Elizabeth's subsequent trial for bigamy.

The immediate next sentence touches on Molly's relationship with her adult children: Fortunately MOlyl remained on speaking terms with the foolish but lively Augustus. After various rows, her dull and decorous son Frederick and daughter Lepell had cut themselves off from her completely. Given that, see my review, according to this book Molly actually wasn't fond of children per se, all of this puts Hervey's last will with its clause re: having his children raised by someone else into something of a new light. In any event, while Hervey did not become G2's father-in-law, his sort of daughter-in-law did briefly become G2's mistress!

Edited Date: 2023-03-12 10:38 am (UTC)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

Wow, this book is definitely bringing the British gossipy sensationalism! The likely-bigamy was really something.

because everyone knew Germans were boring in bed, and how could G2 NOT prefer an Englishwoman!

Haha, poor Germans always getting the short stick. I bet Montesquieu would agree.

while she sat down and G2 laughed, upon which Mary D. retaliated by pulling the chair away from him the next time he sat down to see how he liked it, forgetting he had haemmorids.

Woooow. Ouch. But I say he still had it coming!

the Victorian Hervey descendant who cut out the Fritz of Wales passages from his memoirs also wielded the scissors in Augustus' diary

We hates him, precious, we hates him forever!

In any event, while Hervey did not become G2's father-in-law, his sort of daughter-in-law did briefly become G2's mistress!

Some days salon is just the 18th century royal tabloids!

From:

selenak

Wow, this book is definitely bringing the British gossipy sensationalism! The likely-bigamy was really something.

Check out her English and her German wiki entry (another case where the two have different texts and while the information isn't very different, the German article goes into more details). She became the only female peer(ess) put on trial for bigamy and found guilty to this day. (Her second husband's nephew wanted the heritage.) Oh, and she met Fritz while travelling abroad in 1765.

But I say he still had it coming!

Oh, same. He was a trial to be the mistress of (poor Henrietta Howard, especially!), and lots of work to be the wife of. BTW, Lucy Worsley brought in another aspect re: the marital relationship. As I said elsewhere, while it's very clear how G2 felt about Caroline, it's hard to say what she felt about him, the person (as opposed the opportunity to be Queen of England), given how much work he was. Worsley thinks that Caroline enjoyed sex, and that what she minded about G2's affairs wasn't the cheating - this was standard for the day, and her emotional priority in his life was usually clear - but that in the later years of their marriage he had less and less sex with her, and she couldn't, wouldn't have it with anyone else. (Worsley backs this up with the conversation between Caroline and Robert Walpole where she's worried about the King not finding her sexually alluring anymore, and then Walpole says well, at her age it's normal to hold him with the power of her mind, not her body. She - Lucy Worsley - then points out Caroline lived just before the idea of female sexuality changed radically in England - in the 19th century, of course, it was legless angels and only men wanting sex all the time, but up to and including the first half of the 18th century, women wanting sex was normal and orgasms were a good condition to produce children with, so she could have that kind of conversations.)

We hates him, precious, we hates him forever!

Thank God Lehndorff's descendant wasn't as radical and left it at the attempt to change a few lui's into elle's, before giving up....

(And thank God Schmidt-Lötzen published all those additional volumes, the originals of which now are partly loss, despite his shock as expressed in the original preface to the original volume that the Frederician age wasn't one of manly chastity and sexual affairs at court did not just start with FW3's reign...)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

Thank goodness for both of them, indeed!

Augustus Hervey's journal, in case of interest despite bowdlerizations.

From:

cahn

because everyone knew Germans were boring in bed, and how could G2 NOT prefer an Englishwoman!

Heeee!

but that was a disaster which quickly ended when one of the courtiers pulled the chair away from her while she sat down and G2 laughed, upon which Mary D. retaliated by pulling the chair away from him the next time he sat down to see how he liked it, forgetting he had haemmorids. It was incredibly painful and the instant end of their relationship, to the great disappointment of the English courtiers.

He may have deserved it but I must confess my first reaction was actually "gosh, that was not a smart move, Mary!" Heh, which probably says more about me than about her...

London was thrilled by Elizabeth's subsequent trial for bigamy.

Whoa! Thanks for giving the link afterwards -- I was charmed to find that even though she was found guilty, she absconded with her fortune and as far as I can tell from English wiki, continued to live her best life until she died. That's awesome!

The immediate next sentence touches on Molly's relationship with her adult children: Fortunately MOlyl remained on speaking terms with the foolish but lively Augustus. After various rows, her dull and decorous son Frederick and daughter Lepell had cut themselves off from her completely.

Huh! Iiiiinteresting.

From:

selenak

He may have deserved it but I must confess my first reaction was actually "gosh, that was not a smart move, Mary!" Heh, which probably says more about me than about her...

Well, it wasn't, and he deserved it. These are not mutually exclusive truths. :) Like Elizabeth C. later, she wanted the mistress position, she had already boasted of it and claimed she'd kick Amalie the German mistress out and what not, and as the former governess she must have known G2's temper. Now if he'd made unwanted advances and she wanted to get rid of him, she could not have chosen a better method, but the way Worsley describes it, this wasn't the case. (Not that Worsley is under the delusion Mary D. found G2 himself so hot, but she did want to be Maitresse en titre.) Then again: she was an alcoholic, so probably was not entirely able to think things through when she pulled that chair.

I was charmed to find that even though she was found guilty, she absconded with her fortune and as far as I can tell from English wiki, continued to live her best life until she died. That's awesome!

In an age where women die of make up if they don't die of childbirth or the after effects so often, it definitely is!