The Duchess Countess by Catherine Ostler

The Bridgerton family has nothing on the real-life Elizabeth Chudleigh (1720-1788), a woman who knew what she wanted and how to get it.  Her ancestry was noble, but her own family was not particularly wealthy. Her father died when she was a child, and her brother, Sir Thomas Chudleigh, 5th Baronet, was killed while on active duty, leaving Elizabeth and her mother without a protector, someone who could have rebuilt the family fortune, regained their estate, and find a good husband for Elizabeth.

It was Elizabeth's friendship with William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath that got her an introduction to court as a maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, the mother of George III.  This position gave young Elizabeth a taste of luxury and she was determined to have it all.

Catherine Ostler's The Duchess Countess (Atria) is a delightful biography of Elizabeth Chudleigh, whose trial for bigamy got more attention in the British press than the American Revolution.

She was smart, stylish, witty, and the inspiration for Thackery's Becky Sharp.  She liked being rich and she loved diamonds.  Elizabeth also enjoyed her own scandals.

Her first marriage to Augustus Hervey, the future 3rd Earl of Bristol took place in secret, as was the birth of a son who died at age 4 months.  Hervey never saw his son.  The marriage was not a happy one, but no one (well, nearly no one) knew about it, Elizabeth and Augustus went their separate ways.  

Ostler's biography offers a scintillating portrayal of Chudleigh who sought to climb a few rungs in the social ladder as she fell in love with Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston. They met in Berlin where Elizabeth soon became the duke's mistress.  It was also becoming clear that her secret husband was soon succeeded to the Bristol earldom, so she forged their marriage details in an entry in the parish register at Lainston.

When Hervey wanted to get a divorce, Elizabeth filed a jactitation order against him, which forced him to stop stating they were married without proof.  A court ruled that she was a spinster.  

It was a lie of course.  Elizabeth continued her merry way, finally marrying the Duke of Kingston.  The duke would die, leaving nearly everything to his duchess ... but was she, his duchess?   

Eventually, the gig was up. There would be a trial for bigamy as a peeress of the realm.  She was found guilty.   Always one step ahead of everyone else, Elizabeth absconded to the Continent with her fortune intact.

She would meet Marie Antoinette and Catherine the Great, the latter became a friend and benefactor with Elizabeth acquiring property in Calais and Estonia, and of course rich lovers.

The Duchess Countess is a delightful read and superbly researched.   Elizabeth Chudleigh was very much a woman of her own mind.  She never understood what reckless meant.  She took risks, and she was a survivor.

Elizabeth's life -- Maid of honor to a Princess,  a secret marriage, lovers, a duchess, countess, and licentious, which of course appealed to the equally licentious Catherine the Great -- would make a fantastic mini-series that would put Bridgerton to shame.   Elizabeth was a real woman, whose 18the-century life was not the norm.  Yet, her lifestyle created more attention in the press than that minor rebellion in North America.

A real-life bodice ripper!!!!!!

New Romanian books

 

Prince Radu of Romania is the author of Nunta de Argint, a celebration of four Silver weddings in the Romanian Royal family:  HM Margareta and Prince Radu, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeta, King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, and King Michael and Queen Anne.  

The final chapter of this 127-page book is on the other Romanian royal weddings: Elisabeta (George of Greece), Ileana, Mignon (Alexander of Yugoslavia), Helen (Alexander Nixon), and King Carol II and Helen of Greece

Don't be put by the Romanian text because the author has included many photographs of wedding ceremonies and receptions and life after 25 years.

https://www.curteaveche.ro/p/nunta-de-argint?search=nunta%20de%20argint

https://www.librariaonline.ro/stiinte_umaniste/istorie/flori_din_trecut_regine_si_printese_regale_ale_romaniei-zamani_lelia-vremea-p10115111

Prince Radu is also the author of Povestea Palatului Elisabeta (Curte Veche).  The title translates to the Story of the Elisabeta Palace.

I have had the privilege of being a guest at the Elisabeta Palace on several occasions since 2011 when I visited Bucharest for the first time to attend King Michael's 90th birthday.  My most recent visit was in October for a brunch under a tent on the Elisabeta Palace grounds.  Before the brunch, the six guests were given a tour of the palace. It was nice to be back and be able to see everything up close (and be able to take pictures.)

It was nice to see HM Margareta's wedding gown and Prince Radu's suit, which formed a small exhibition celebrating their 25th anniversary

[It was due to Covid restrictions that we had the brunch outside in a heated tent.)

This 167-page hardcover book offers a history of the Palace, which was built by the former Queen Elisabeth of the Hellenes, and now is the official residence of HM Margareta and Prince Radu.

I think the book is also a superb guide to the palace with photos of the different rooms, portraits, and furniture.  

It is important to stress that the Elisabeta Palace is a comfortable home - and the seat of the Royal Family as Romania is a functioning monarchy within a republic.

It is an honor to visit the Elisabeta Palace.  It is also open to the public for limited tours.   I wish the book was published in English and Romanian as there is interest

in the Romanian royal family outside Romania.  

The photographs by Alexandru Chirita and Daniel Angelescu are wonderful and provide a visual insight into the Palace's rooms and landscapes.  If you cannot travel to Bucharest and be able to book a tour, Povestea Palatului Elisabeta is the next best thing.

During my recent visit to Bucharest, I spent some time browsing Cărturești Carusel, one of the most attractive bookstores in Bucharest, if not Europe.  The store has a good selection of books on the Royal Family.  One of the books I bought was Flori din trecut. Regine si printese regale ale Romaniei by Lelia Emanuel Badescu, which translates Flowers from the past. Queens and royal princesses of Romania.

The book was published in paperback by Editura Vremea in 2018.  The authors offer profiles of Romania's Queen Consorts (Elisabeth, Marie, Anne) and the princesses, Elisabeta, Maria, Ileana, Queen Mother Elena, and Margareta, Sophie, and Maria.

The text is Romanian.  Fabulous selection of historic photos.  My favorite one is of a young Princess Marie of Edinburgh with her older brother, Affie, and their father, the Duke of Edinburgh.

 

 

Uncrowned Queen by Nicola Tallis

My cocktail table is the main repository for books that I am reading now, will read, or recently read, but when it is time for the Christmas decorations to come out of storage, everything on the cocktail table - the books and the pink Wedgewood - are brought into the guest room until the Christmas is packed away.

The books are now back decorating all four corners of the cocktail table, which means I plan on writing several reviews in the next few weeks. 

Lady Margaret Beaufort is one of the most fascinating of Plantagenet-Tudor women.  Margaret was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford.   It was not until after the death of his second wife, Constance of Castile, that John, the duke of Lancaster, was able to marry Katherine. Their four children were legitimated but their older half-brother, King Henry IV excluded them from succession to the throne. 

But as the War of the Roses would show, the line of succession was not always clear, and certainly never safe.  Margaret was just a year old when her father died, perhaps from suicide. He had recently returned from France where he led a failed military campaign.

With her father's death, Lady Margaret (1443-1509) became an heiress and a formidable heiress at that.  Before she was three years old, she was married to John de la Pole, son of the Duke of Suffolk. Margaret was a wealthy heiress and Suffolk saw an opportunity to marry his son to someone who had potential rights to the throne.   The marriage would be annulled as Henry IV wanted Margaret to marry his half-brother, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond.

She was twelve when she married Edmund.  It was at this time when the War of the Roses began in earnest.  Edmund, who supported the Lancaster cause, was taken prisoner by the Yorkists.  His 13-year-old wife was pregnant with their child.

Margaret's only child, Henry Tudor was born on January 28, 1457.   Margaret's devotion to her son -- and she would not see him for several decades -- was paramount.  She did all in her power to keep him safe.

She was a devout Catholic, and shrewd, intelligent, and complicated.  Her plan was to put her son on the throne.  The plan was not without peril and or danger especially after the death of King Edward IV and the murders of his two young sons, King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, led to the accession of King Richard III.   

Margaret envisioned a plan that would bring about a marriage between Edward IV's eldest daughter and her son, a marriage that would unite the Houses of Lancaster and York, thus bringing the War of the Roses to an end.

This was not an easy task for Lady Margaret who had to summon all the courage, internally and externally, to remain in control.  She ingratiated herself with Richard III, a major accomplishment because she was actually trying to overthrow him and have her son become king.

And that is what happened.   On August 22, 1485,  Richard III became the last English king to die in battle, defeated by Henry Tudor.  King Henry VII.

Goal achieved.  A goal that essentially changed the course of English and ultimately British history.  The marriage between Henry and Elizabeth of York offers a wiggly direct line of descent to the present Queen Elizabeth.

Margaret - Henry VII - Margaret - James IV of Scotland -  James V -Mary - James VI & I - Elizabeth - Sophia - George I - George II - Frederick (Prince of Wales) - George III - Edward Duke of Kent - Victoria - Edward VII - George V - George VI - Elizabeth II

Dr. Nicola Tallis is at the forefront of young British women historians.   She is the author of Uncrowned Queen The Life of Margaret Beaufort Mother of the Tudors (Basic Books).   

The Plantagenet dynasty featured several strong-willed women who fought for their families, their birthrights, but Lady Margaret accomplished far more.  She was able to use her position to upend history, get rid of the usurper to place her son -- yes, he too can be described as a usurper, but his succession brought an end to nearly a century of civil wars and finally brought stability to England.  

Dr. Tallis is a masterful storyteller who engages her readers with diverse characters and an unfolding tale of maternal love.   She has delved into a myriad of sources to bring the legacy of this fascinating woman to life.   Margaret used her wealth to finance education and religious foundations.  She supported writers and charities.   

Tallis noted that she had to be flexible to handle to vicissitudes of her life.

Lady Margaret, a Queen mother in name, died on April 29, 1509, only two months after the death of her son, King Henry VII.   She had been ill for some time and was unable to attend her grandson, Henry VIII's Coronation, which took place five days before she died in the Deanery at Westminster Abbey.

Uncrowned Queen is a sympathetic, fascinating portrayal of one of English history's most influential politicians, a woman whose primary focus in life was her son and keeping him alive and safe ... and getting him to the throne of England.

Dr. Tallis is also the author of the rivetting Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey.

The Queens' Lovers at the British Library with Kate Williams and Rebecca Rideal

 

"Enjoy an evening of Tudor gossip, scandal and heartbreak as Professor Kate Williams and Rebecca Rideal discuss the many loves, trysts, liaisons and favourites of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.

This event takes place in the British Library Theatre and will be simultaneously live-streamed on the British Library platform. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person or to watch on our platform (online) either live or within 48 hours on catch up.  In-person ticket bookers will also be sent a bonus link to the online event. Viewing links will be sent out shortly before the event.

The online version of this event will be live captioned.

From Mary’s doomed marriage to Lord Darnley to Elizabeth’s romance with Robert Dudley – we explore how stories of the queens’ lovers fed into the politics of the time and, for better or worse, came to define both Queens.

Kate Williams is an author, social historian and broadcaster. She is a Professor of History and appears regularly on television – including as the in-house historian and royal expert for CNN.

She has written five historical biographies and a series of historical novels. Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots, her take on the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, was published in 2018.

Rebecca Rideal is a historian, TV & podcast producer and the author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire and the forthcoming God’s Throne: The Rise, Fall and Revolution of the Stuarts, 1603–1714. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the founder and director of history festival HistFest.

If you’re attending in person, please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. We are committed to the safety of our event bookers. Find out how we are welcoming you to the Library safely."

The event will take place on February 10, 2022, from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m  (London time.)

Click on the link to find out how to attend, in person or online.

https://www.bl.uk/events/the-queens-lovers