MARGUERITE ALIBERT , THE PRINCE OF WALES, and HENRI LAURENT - A MARRIAGE

I think of the film Pretty William, an early Julia Roberts film in which the Richard Gere character turns out to be not a client but a man of her dreams she can find true love with.  A popular film and pure fantasy. ...

In 1907 Marguerite Alibert had met Andre Meller, a 40 year old married man, tall, good looking and rich via the wine business.  He owned racing stables too.  The couple were seen around town since there was no shame in Paris of having a Mistress, unlike in Britain.  She was his keep. Their relationship of seven years included foreign travel. (Figuring 1907-1914, she was about 16 - 22 years old.) When Andre was out of town, Marguerite continued to be a courtesan and sex worker like other kept women in Paris. She made him jealous and acted as if he were not pleasing enough, not providing enough for her.  (And here we see there were distinctions between these categories.)

She moved on to the Prince of Wales who, during 1917 and 1918, wrote 20 or more letters to her in which he was open with his feelings about his father and his political views.  She wrote back. The Prince enjoyed women with strong and dominating personalities. Some say that he actually enjoyed women who were dominatrix, something Marguerite may have practiced in the brothels where she worked. But as the affair with the Prince fizzed out and he moved on to Mrs. Dudley Ward as his mistress, Marguerite wrote the Prince a horrible letter hinting black mail.  She wanted money.  He sought legal advice. The Royal Household lawyers wanted to get those letters back from her or "secure" her silence.  

Marguerite met Henri Laurent.

In 1919 the Prince of Wales left Buckingham Palace to live at York House and have more independence from his controlling family. By 1920- 1921 Freda Dudley Ward and the Prince were embroiled. By 1922 their relationship was strained.  She wanted to divorced her husband and also showed interest in another man.

In 1919 Laurent had proposed to Marguerite.  Once again she only had money in mind.  He was a dull man who happened to be generous. Henri Laurent was rich enough to give her and her daughter Raymonde a good life.  Once married to him, Raymonde finally came to live with her mother and she was given a private education in England. The marriage lasted from May 1919 to March 1920.  Now Marguerite was a rich woman.  That she was rich did not end her need for even more.  But she was able to upgrade her life after divorce due to her settlement with him.  It could be argued that she no longer had to be a sex worker or a courtesan. But it seems she never wanted just one man in her life.

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The Woman Before Wallis = Prince Edward, The Parisian Courtesan, and the Perfect Murder is the primary reference for this month's posts.