ALICE KEPPEL
Alice Frederica Edmonstone***
"Freddie"
image from Wikimedia Commons
dated as originally painted between 1890 and 1900
1868 - 1947
Our Mistress of the Month here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO is Alice Keppel who was very well known as King Edward VII's mistress - one of his last extramarital relationships that the very busy King had while married to Queen Alexandra - in her time. Perhaps she is best known today because Queen Camilla is one of her descendants. She was one of Queen Camilla's great grandmothers. *** Over the last few months I've focused on King Edward VII's mistresses, having read over three books by three authors, that include Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, Agnes Keyser, and Alice Keppel. Alice lived until 1947 making her almost contemporary. But as the King died in 1910, we can say that her relationship with him, that began in about 1898 when she was about 30, lasted until she was about 42 years old. We also know that she was with him to the very end and went hysterical with grief. Perhaps he was the love of her life?
This month I will start with what I noted while reading the book Edward VII's Last Loves by Raymond Lamont-Brown.
Born Alice Frederica Edmonston, by the time she, as Mrs. George Keppel, met the then Prince of Wales he had been married six years and had four children by his wife. Born in 1841, the King was also seventeen years her senior - and had a history of taking much younger mistresses and, as I see it, was totally incapable of limiting himself when it came to women.
Alice came from the upper class of Scottish society, educated people, good schools for the boys, home schooling for the girls - nobility. She was raised by a nanny and a governess and was destined to be an idle married woman of the upper class, but she was a tomboy that her family called "Freddie" and 'outspoken for a girl.' She was one to want more.
Alice grew up in a castle that had been home to the Edmonstons since the 4th century and had been a gift to them from King Robert III of Scotland. She was the youngest daughter of Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet of Duntreath, and Mary Elizabeth Parsons. Her father died when she was 20. At 23 she married the Honorable George Keppel, the son of the 7th Earl Albemarle, whose family had a history of service to the Royal family. He was not rich though, and had no inheritance to look forward to. She remained married to him.
Alice had two daughters, whose paternity is questioned as not sired by her husband, Violet, a lesbian who became a bit infamous in her time, was born in 1894, and Sonia, whose descendants include Queen Camilla, was born in 1900. Sonia has been suspected as having been fathered by Edward Albert, Prince of Wales.
As members of Edward Albert's Marlborough House set, Alice had a series of affairs. Her husband did not object when she became the prince's mistress. Once she was Edward's mistress, prior to his becoming King Edward VII, the family benefitted from the King's largess. They moved into a better house where Alice could entertain the King and her daughters came to accept 'Kingy', as their mother called him, as a special visitor. He was good to her children and, to put it right, they knew how to get lost.
Like other Royal mistresses, notably Daisy Warwick and Lillie Langtry, Alice was blessed with glorious red hair. Her skin was alabaster and her eyes described as 'turquoise!" *** She was considered intelligent and informed - a good conversationalist. She traveled with the King, to Paris, to resorts, and was accepted by his court. As a result she was called 'Mistress in Chief" by them. The nick-name implies that they accepted that she was in charge of him, though it's clear there were aspects of his life that she had no say in. However, the notion that she was befriended by the Princess Alexandra, 'Alix," the Prince of Wales' wife, as reported by author Raymond Lamont-Brown, is denied in other books.
Now I will continue with this month's primary reference, the third book I read about King Edward VII and his mistress Alice Keppel. Theo Aronson's The King In Love.
She was the youngest of nine children, a girl with an independent spirit.
There are many versions of who introduced Alice and the King but the memories are unified in that the 56 year old King was at once wildly attracted to the 29 year old Mrs.George Keppel. She had the ideal curvatons Victorian figure, glorious hair, small hands and feet. But her personality also shone through.
Excerpt Page 187 : With her short but generously proportioned figure, Alice Keppel exuded an unmistakable sensuousness; there was a warm, almost Mediterranean quality about her appearance. This same exotic aura characterized her manner. She was vivacious, extrovert, expansive. Her voice was low and seductive. In old age one admirer remembered her as having a 'deep throat voice like Garbo.' Even in those less emancipated days she smoked, using a long cigarette holder; it emphasized her air of sophistication. She dressed with great panache and, after becoming the Prince of Wales' mistress, with greater panache still. (She did have a Greek grandmother.)
Excerpt page 189 : As she matured, Alice Edmonstone - in spite of her Latin looks - appeared to be developing into a typically aristocratic young Scotswoman; honest, energetic, practical. She had, as they would say, her head screwed on correctly. But there was more to her than this. Alice Edmonstone had a genuinely kind heart; her nature was without pettiness, prejudice or malice. She never spoke ill of anyone; she almost never lost her temper. Even as a girl, her tact was remarkable. It was always she who kept the peace between her frequently bickering sisters; who formed the bridge between those who were dogmatic and those who were diffident. Her impartiality her willingness to make allowance, were to become proverbial.
Though we have this lovely portrait to refer to, let it be noted that bit by bit Alice Keppel became fat, dining so well and often with the portly King.
And with that, I say - The next post is coming soon!
Missy
Notes regarding Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth upon her marriage to Prince Charles known as the Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla Parker Bowles's official title is Queen Camilla (or simply Her Majesty The Queen) following the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. While she was initially referred to as "Queen Consort" upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the title was updated to "Queen" to reflect her position as the wife of the monarch.
*** I've heard that Princess Diana's eyes were also considered to be turquoise.
*** Camilla denies that she ever offered Charles, Prince of Wales, to be his mistress back in the day when they first had a relationship.)
*** I've seen it spelled both Edmonstone and Edmonston...
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