THE DYNAMIC SCREEN STAR GLORIA SWANSON : HER TWO - THREE YEARS WITH JOSEPH P. KENNEDY MAY HAVE RUINED HER CAREER BUT IN LIFE SHE PERSEVERED

GLORIA MAE JOSEPHINE SWANSON

1899 - 1983

Back in 2009 when I began this blog, the very first posts I made here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO included Gloria Swanson, a silent screen star who made it to the talkies, was married repeatedly, and might be most known today for the 1950 film "Sunset Boulevard" in which she portrayed an actress clinging to a famous past long gone. An unconventional woman for her times, the petite and classically beautiful Swanson was a talented actor who earned fabulous sums of money but lost control of her finances when producing her own movies. In 1927, Joseph P. Kennedy, the future father of President John F. Kennedy, and by then a successful banker and broker in his late 30's, married with children, came into her life. She was married too, to her third husband.

Some would say he targeted her.  But, my dear readers, after reading this book I've decided to take the perhaps unpopular stance that Kennedy's confidence, built through other business and investment successes - as a Harvard educated banker who was quite savvy with money and investing in other areas, including the stock market - might have given him the idea that he could succeed in the movies too. But he was in over his head, in business and in love -  and so was Gloria when it came to the business side. There was a lot of ruthless competition and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 that plunged the country into the Great Depression, though Kennedy personally wasn't plunged, is something to consider too.

The silent film era was almost over and Swanson was one of the actresses who moved into the talkies with some success. But perhaps, though Swanson was at the top, earning record-breaking sums for her acting, she wouldn't have sustained her career anyway, for she was getting older.  Acting for women, like modeling, tends to span years, not decades, to this day. Swanson wanted to produce her own movies. Kennedy wanted to expand his financial empire by investing in the movie business, by owning his own production company, and making movies with a star that would attract the audiences. So, he was quite possibly learning as he went himself and the day came when he knew it was all too much for him and he got out. However, the overall opinion circa 2026 is that the man was ruthless and heartless, allowed her to sink her fortune into a movie that didn't go so well, and then left her in a lurch and broke. 

That's why the book "Gloria and Joe" by Axel Madsen jumped off the library shelf; and my quick review of it at this moment is that it goes into detail about both Gloria and Joe's career success and financial dealings before they met, while I will focus on what happened when they did. Though Gloria Swanson was at the top when they met in November of 1927, she had been taken advantage of by men before, in various ways. Joe Kennedy had done his business research, had interesting questions that proved he'd done his 'due diligence", but also manipulated her to agree to let him get her out of debt and into his bed.

Gloria Swanson was married several times, the first time at age seventeen to Hollywood star Wallace Beery, who was thirty. According to Gloria, he raped her on their wedding night and he was very abusive. She had an abortion he tricked her into during that brief marriage and wanted out quickly. They were married in 1916 and divorced in 1918; she had to wait a year before the divorce could be granted at that time.

Her second husband was Herbert K. Somborn, a movie business executive who was the president of Equity Pictures Corporation at the time. According to author Madsen, he hid his financial problems from Gloria until they were married and unfairly threatened to ruin her by lying that she'd had a long list of men - adulterous affairs, in order to get money from her, when she wanted out. They were married in 1919 and divorced in 1922-23.  Movie moguls at the time were involved in getting Somborn a settlement that would preserve her reputation and thus her career, though there were some shenanigans going on there too. Gloria felt this husband was blackmailing her. A morality cause was added to her studio contract. Herbert was the father of her daughter, Gloria Swanson Somborn, who was born in October of 1920 and called Sister. It was a difficult birth and so Gloria also adopted a son from an orphanage, Joseph, called Brother. Somborn used the money he got in his divorce settlement from Gloria to invest in the restaurant business, the popular Brown Derby. Of interest to me, though perhaps it is just a coincidence, Gloria named the son, said to be of Irish heritage, Joseph Patrick Swanson...

Her third husband was Henri de la Falaise, a French aristocrat with a noble heritage who also benefited by his marriage to Gloria. She met him in Jazz age Paris, and he followed her to Hollywood where he was offered the opportunity to become a movie director. It Joseph P. Kennedy who offered him that opportunity and Henri had to go back to France to take the job; this was likely Kennedy's manipulation to get him out of the way. Some of her friends thought Henri was a gigolo, but he was one who could hold his own in conversations and an intellectual who seemed to have loved Gloria, if his heartfelt, sad goodbye is to be believed. They were married in 1925 and divorced in 1931, this being Gloria Swanson's longest marriage.

Her fourth husband was Michael Farmer, a rich sportsman, who she married in 1931 and divorced in 1934. During this marriage Gloria gave birth to Michelle Bridget Farmer in 1932.

Her fifth husband was William Davey, an investment banker, who she married in 1945 and divorced in 1946.

Her sixth husband was William Dufty, a  successful ghost writer and anti-sugar activist, who she married in 1976 and stayed married to until her death in 1983. They shared a macrobiotic lifestyle. Gloria believed healthy food was the key to, not only health, but also her enduring good looks. She was considered to be a "fitness pioneer."

Now dear readers, I want to let you know that while reading this book, I learned a little bit about a mistress I had never heard of and a little bit more about one I elected Mistress of the Month years ago. So stick with me, because next month I'm going to include them in this narrative!

Missy

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For this month's posts, Axel Madson's book is the primary reference.  Having once read Swanson's memoir and at least two books about Joseph P. Kennedy, I also did some Internet research.

You may be interested in :

January 2016

CLARA BOW

Actress, First "IT Girl" and Roaring Twenties Mistress of Old Hollywood Film Producer B.P. Schulberg 

PLANNED DOWN TIME NOTICE : MISTRESS MANIFESTO WILL BE "DOWN" AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE

 To my regular readers!

After blogging for so many years, it's time to move MISTRESS MANIFESTO to a new theme and format. Although this, and some other adjustments, may happen quickly and easily, a day or so perhaps, I want you to know that I'm preparing for glitches or more time consuming actions. I will be trying to do technology updates bit by bit at first without disappearing from the Internet, but it's likely my tech will have more recommendations....

Missy

 

HE'S GONE HOME NOW - SO GO AHEAD AND READ MISTRESS MANIFESTO!

What are you going to do now that he's gone on home? 

Keep in touch with your peers reading MISTRESS MANIFESTO!

Leave me a comment!

Missy

JOURNEY

 

SHOULD A MAN WHO BREAKS WITH A WOMAN WHO HE HAS BEEN SUPPORTING GIVE HER MONEY WHEN HE DOES?

QUESTION FOR MISSY

Hi Missy.

I've been the Mistress of a rich wall street broker for a year and a half. He moved me into an apartment six months ago. We aren't getting along. I want to break with him and he probably wants to break with me. I can't afford to move out. Do you think he ought to give me some money and how much?

Melissa in Manhattan

ANSWER FROM MISSY

Hello Melissa,

Yes, I do think a rich man who has moved a Mistress into an apartment so that she could be there for him and who wishes to break with her should help her.  This is not severance from a job or a pension. It is because you once loved and you both gave it a go to see what might happen next. And when people love each other, they try to ease a break up. He well knows that you cannot afford to move out on your own and what your finances have been and are. It is good and right.

I suggest you have to have 'the talk' with the man and you have to get into it spontaneously, because no one likes to have 'the talk.'  (And yes, you can go to couple's counseling.) 

I think it would be reasonable for him to find another apartment for you that is affordable and pay for about six months of the rent, as well as money for the basics such as utilities and food. Hopefully you will be able to get work and independence by then.  I base that on how long you've been together. If it had been more years, more money.

Often a Mistress experiences an elevation in her lifestyle and it can be difficult to go back to what one came from. Whatever self-improvement or awareness you have obtained through this experience you go forward with!

Best Wishes, 

Missy

ALICE KEPPEL : LA MAITRESSE DU ROI IN FRANCE : STILL HE WAS NEVER FAITHFUL

The King spent much time in France at the seaside resort Biarritz on the Atlantic coast and France might have been where he felt most at ease. It was in France that Alice was treated as through she were the Queen. And if you're wondering, yes her family went along on many of these trips.

Excerpt page 229 ; " ... For the sake of appearances she would neither be met by the King nor accommodated in his hotel. Her host would be Sir Ernest Cassel, who would have rented the luxurious Vila Eugenie - the restored seaside residence of the Second Empire court - which would be run for him by his windowed sister. Alice Keppel would have a floor to herself, her daughters being accommodated in the nursery wing which had once housed the late Prince Imperial. ....

However, the King and Mrs. Keppel would stroll together on the promenade and they lunched together in his suite at the Hotel Du Palais. One of the reasons he preferred Biarritz, however, was because few royals went there, nor did politicians, and he was also not approached there by women who hoped to seduce him.  King Edward VII was not faithful to Alice Keppel - or any woman - in his lifetime. He was a philanderer and in his sixties he was still out and about with the ladies.  Some of his conquests are known by name and so I must wonder, yes he was a King, rich, but also balding, fat, and - well, some say he was actually unable to perform in the last decade or so of his life - so WHAT WAS IN IT FOR THE WOMEN - SOME WHO TRIED, SOME WHO SUCCEEDED, in SEDUCING HIM?  I tend to think that for some women in that time and place, seducing a King was like a groupie seducing a rock star.  One might not think a night of passion would lead to a relationship, but it might also be worth the chance, even knowing that other women had the very same mind-set.

In past posts in previous months, I've written about the final days of the King, and the way Alice reacted in grief.  No doubt about it, she loved Edward and the life he gave her and her family.

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Interested in Groupies?  You may want to go into my archives: 

October 2016

GROUPIES - Are They Really So Different Than Mistresses?

WE TWO

 

THE PRINCE DIDN'T AVOID THE WOMEN WHO'D BEEN HIS MISTRESSES IN THE PAST : LILLIE LANGTRY, DAISY WARWICK, and AGNES KEYSER BUT ALICE KEPPEL WAS HIS FAVORITE

As Princess and Queen, Alexandra busied herself with motherhood and other duties that came with her rank.  As Prince and King, Edward Albert kept up with some of the women who had been his mistresses in the past.  Or perhaps these relationships lingered?

He was not always successful in persuading hostesses to invite Alice Keppel as they favored or were better friends with these other mistresses.  Additionally, he had interest in children he had likely sired with other women. Lillie Langtry was one of these women, who endeavored to have a daughter she had with him presented to society so that she might make a good marriage.

Daisy Warwick was another mistress who he renewed his passion for. Very likely at least one of her children was his. And a the time, he was also involved with Agnes Keyser, our Mistress of the Month last, though this affair was thought by some to be a friendship.

His mother, Queen Victoria, had warned him that when he became King he would have to end his friendships but when he did become King at her death he did not break with Alice Keppel or anyone else.  What happened is that Alice was recognized as his favorite.

Excerpt page 210: "There were several reasons for her preeminent. The chief one was that the King was devoted to her. Physically, mentally, and socially, Alice Keppel meet his every requirement.  he not only adored her, he admired her. It was noticed that whenever they were in company together, he never took his eyes off her, and was on edge if he noticed her talking to another man.  This adoration was to have an echo in the love of his grandson, the future Edward VIII, for Wallis Simpson. He, too would keep a constant watch on his beloved and, if she left the room, would look anxious and fretful until he returned.

So attractive, so chic, Alice Keppel was a decorative addition to the King's circle. In many ways she epitomized the Edwardian society woman - worldly, witty, lighthearted. Unlike her royal lover, she was very articulate...

Excerpt page 211; Her outspokenness even extended to the King. Alice was one of the few people in the world to stand up to him... She knew exactly how far she could go with him.  Alice always handled the notoriously impatient monarch with great expertise... Her tact, her skill in keeping the King amused and diverted was greatly appreciated by his entourage....

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Missy here!  Reading about how well Alice handled the King made me think of another woman who I elected to be Mistress of the Month who was known for how she handled her man. Barbara Sinatra!  See those posts in my archive!

October 2018
BARBARA BLAKELEY MARX-SINATRA : Twice a Mistress Thrice a Wife : Singer Frank Sinatra.

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OF DENMARK, THE WIFE OF EDWARD ALBERT, PRINCE OF WALES, DID NOT LIKE ALICE KEPPEL : BUT SHE LIKED HER MORE THAN OTHER MISTRESSES

Though their are legends about how well the Prince of Wales wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, accepted Alice as a mistress, this was probably not the case.  Yes, by the time Alice Keppel was the King's mistress, Queen Alexandra knew her husband had never been faithful to her. He'd had many mistresses and he was without apology.  However, she expected him and his women to be discreet. Alice Keppel might have been discreet in her way, but her personality was too big and she was so well know. She and the King were going here, there, and everywhere...

Excerpt page 195-196: "A legend persists, to this day, that the attitude of Alexandra, as Princess and Queen, towards her husband's affair with Alice Keppel was one of saintly forbearance.  She is popularly believed to have displayed all those qualities of charity and forgiveness for which she was renowned.  This is not quite accurate. In the first place, Alexandra was never the saint of popular imagination; she had many attractive quantities but could be stubborn and selfish.  her supposed acceptance of her husbands' mistress should simply have been a manifestation of self absorption.  And secondly, there where times when, far from approving of Mrs. Keppel, Alexandra revealed an active dislike.

It is true that the Princess of Wales preferred Alice Kepple to Daisy Warwick. .....And Alexandra would have approved of the fact that Mrs. Keppel did not flaunt her position to the extent that Daisy Warwick had once done. She would have been grateful to Alice Keppel for keeping the Prince in good temper.  But this did not mean that she found her almost continual presence any less irksome.

The Royal family also noted that Alexandra did not appreciate Alice's presence at events that they attended. And if she knew that Alice was going to be at an event, Alexandra was known to not be present.  She went on Mediterranean cruises, paid visits to her family and friends in Denmark, or traveled abroad.

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HOW OLD IS TOO OLD? IS AGE DIFFERANCE A PROBLEM : QUESTIONS FOR MISSY

QUESTION FOR MISSY :

How old is too old?  Older men seem to be very interested in me.  I'm 21. I go out with men who are in their late thirties to late forties basically. Some have been divorced. Some never married.

Roxanne

Minneapolis

ANSWER FOR MISSY:

Roxanne, when we fall in love, we fall in love.  I think when we do, we overlook the practical, such as that, if we are with a person who is a generation or so ahead of us, they may be in a different time of life than we are, or will be.  Think of this. Retirement! A man who is 37 to your 21 is basically going to retire about sixteen years before you!

I think one should consider as a candidate for a relationship those who are seven years younger to those who are seven years older.  At 21 this isn't practical.  It wouldn't even be legal or right for you to date a 14 year old.  For a 30 year old, this would mean dating men between the ages of 23 and 37.  Let's say a man is 50.  I think the age range of women he is dating should be between 43 and 57.

I still see potential generational differences but perhaps what's most important is maturity.

Tradition however, differs. Tradition is that a man marries when he can afford to - and that it is he who chooses who he will marry. And since it can take a while for a man to get there, he may very well choose a much younger woman.  What does afford to marry mean these days when so many women self-support? 

Self assess Roxanne.  Is the relationship a good one?

Love is love and love can be a rare thing in a life and maybe being practical should be overlooked in favor of love!

Missy

ALICE KEPPEL DECORATED THE HOUSES WITH AN ATMOSPHERE OF LUXURY : HER CHILDREN WERE KEPT ASIDE AND HER HUSBAND GAVE HER AND THE KING SPACE

Alice decorated the house to be approved of by the Prince, who it is reasonable to think was paying for most or all of it.  Eventually she would move to an even grander house in Grosvenor Street, and there also decorate to create an atmosphere of luxury.

Excerpt page 195: "The same "atmosphere of luxury" pervaded her bedroom. Its mounds of pillows, cut-glass vases filled with lilies and malmaisons and its rich velvet curtains drawn, in this instance, against  the daylight, all helped to create a suitably seductive setting for her extramarital assignations.  With George Keppel having obligingly gone off to his club - and later his job - for the afternoons, and with the staff remaining discreetly downstairs, the Prince and Mrs. Keppel would be certain of a couple hours to themselves.

The butler would make sure that the children and any visiting friends were kept away in the house, as the Prince showed up and left the house. Yet is is known that the children did understand that the man visiting their mother at the house was a special person.

Oh, I do wonder about so many accommodating husbands.  Let's just say that this was the way of the upper crust of society in those times and may still be the way today.

DO YOU DECORATE YOUR BEDROOM FOR SEDUCTION??

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PURITY

 Image from  Susan Wilkinson on Upsplash

ALICE KEPPEL AND HER FAMILY MOVED HOUSE SO AS TO BETTER ENTERTAIN AS A MISTRESS : SHE WAS GOOD TO THE SERVANTS

The Keppel family moved - George, Alice, and first child daughter Violet - from their home in Wilton Crescent to a more elegant home in Portman Square where Alice conducted her affair with the Prince of Wales.  

The house was six stories and the servants toiled all day but were expected to do their work without being seen.

Except page 191 -192 : ..."It had few of the amenities which were already being installed in comparable houses, such as central heating or the telephone, and food had to be kept cool in an outhouse in the area yard.  Yet it did boast some modern conveniences: it was lit by electricity instead of gas, and husband and wife had a bathroom each - an almost unheard of luxury for a London house. For most homes had no bathroom at all. Where, in some of the grandest country houses, there were one o two bathrooms, they were invariably huge, icy caverns situated at the end of unheateded corridors.

Additionally, the Keppels kept a modest two servants per, when it was typical of rich families to have up to eight servants per person. The servants were not paid well  A typical family had a housekeeper, cook, lady's maid, nurse, housemaids, kitchen maids, scullery maids, laundry maids, maids-of-all-work, as well as a butler, under butler, valets, footmen, pantry boys, lamp boys, odd-jo-men, and kitchen porters - and that was just for the inside of the house.  Much depended on how well they were treated by their employers.

Excerpt page 194: "By all accounts, Alice Keppel was an exceptionally considerate employer.... She was the kind of fair-minded and warmhearted mistress that servants appreciated.... As well as having a staff worthy of her Royal lover, Alice Keppel needed rooms worthy of him..."

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WHITE ORCHIDS

photo by Alexandra Nosova on Upsplash

The Prince of Wales often sent Alice white orchids, one of her favorite flowers.

 

THE MARRIED ALICE KEPPEL HAD PERSONALITY AND BEAUTY BUT MONEY? - NO NOT SO MUCH

Alice's husband, the Honorable George Kepple, a third son, might have been swayed to marry for money, but he married Alice for love. She had no money to speak of herself. She was the youngest child of nine.

Excerpt page 190: "Marrying for love was one thing; trying to live in London society in the 1890's without money was quite another  before many years had passed, the increasingly worldly Alice Keppel had come to appreciate that there was only one sure way by which a married but impoverished society woman to get the bills paid.  This was by adopting that easy-going attitude towards adultery characteristic of the Marlborough House set; she must take a wealthy lover.  It was said that the father of her first daughter, Violet, born in 1894, was the rich Ernest William Beckett, the future Lord Grimthorpe.

(Violet herself hinted that her father was the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII but this is not likely true for they had not met five years earlier.)

No matter where it was that the King and Alice met, it was the Keppel's home where Alice and her husband entertained the him when he was Prince o Wales. The author, Theo Aronson, has something interesting to say about why Alice proved to be the ideal mistress.

Excerpt page 191: "Alice proved to be the ideal mistress for an ageing man She was attractive enough to interest him sexually; entertaining when he was bored, patient when he was cantankerous, sympathetic when he was ill, unobtrusive when he appeared in public.  In his company she was amusing, even-tempered, uncomplaining  Like all successful mistresses, Alice was part-lover, part-wife, part-mother. An added attraction was that she was an accomplished  bridge player.  For the Prince was reaching the ae when a man values a good partner at bridge table as highly as a good partner in bed.  Before long, Alice Keppel had become an indispensable part of the Prince's life: a brilliant threat running through the fabric of his days.

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QUEEN VICTORIA WORE A SNAKE RING : ALICE KEPPEL GAVE THE KING A SNAKE RING TOO : VICTORIAN ERA LOVE MOTIFS

I thought you might be interested in this article about the symbolism of snake jewelry in the Victorian era. It has a drawing of Queen Victoria's snake ring! Snake rings are back in style now.

Excerpt: Serpent motifs became particularly prominent during the reign of Queen Victoria, who received an engagement ring from Prince Albert featuring a snake with an emerald-set head and ruby eyes. This sparked a fascination with snake-inspired designs, making them a defining trend of the Victorian era.

Today, it is believed the ring is buried with Queen Victoria at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore.

Link here for more interesting information and photos 

LAPADA ORG GUIDE TO VICTORIAN JEWELRY

Now the image above is of a snake swallowing its own tail. I posted it here because our Mistress of the Month, Alice Keppel, gave King Edward VII a diamond ring with this eternal love motif.

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ALICE KEPPEL : THE "MISTRESS IN CHIEF" OF KING EDWARD VII : SHE CALLED HIM 'KINGY' : HE WAS ACCEPTED INTO HER HOME BY HER HUSBAND AND DAUGHTERS TOO

 

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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READING E-BOOKS for MISTRESS MANIFESTO BLOGSPOT : MISSY SPEAKS

READING E-BOOKS for MISTRESS MANIFESTO BLOGSPOT

Hello Readers!

In December 2016 I finally decided to try reading by e-book. Basically, I've always been a book lover - a book worm - and one who uses libraries, goes to books sales and bookstores and book fairs. I always seems to have two or three books to read at a time. For this blog I like to read at least one well regarded book before choosing my subject matter such as the Mistress of the Month but sometimes I read books that I reject or two or three or four. I also read magazine articles and news on line, including some old archived articles. Then I'm ready to make a decision and take a position.

I've learned over the last few months that there are some true positives for reading by e-book. One is saving me time, though I still do visit my library and read paper. I check to see if a book I want to read is available as an e-book and sometimes after a chapter or so I decide the books isn't appealing and that saves me borrowing or buying it. Another is that I can use the search in Overdrive (my app) to scan the book before I read it to see if there is much reference to the person or subject that I want to learn about. For instance, more than one mistress featured at MISTRESS MANIFESTO has so been in the shadows that you might have to read a few books to find a mention of her name. I know I can count on the book being mine to read for 21 days reading an e - sometimes renewable several times - before I can take notes. I still take notes by hand - sometimes hundreds of pages. I go back to the bookmarked pages when I'm taking notes to see if I still feel the information on those pages is relevant.

Of course books are the work of writers - authors - and really when I reference a book that's more than a year or two old it's like revaluing the work. I look at this blog as a way to introduce my readers to many of these talented, skilled, ambitious, and determined people who have managed to produce an entire manuscript, market it, get agents, get PR, and then - some of them - do that again. As I understand it, the initial push to market a book is when they make it or break it financially.

If there is a mistress you know about that you think would make a good subject, please leave a comment. Any books you'd recommend? That too!

As part of the Google Blogger there are stats. I look at these once in a while and see that many people are reading MISTRESS MANIFESTO on their cell phone. Although some of the most popular posts have "legs of their own" and so take dominance when you use the Internet to find the blog or information about someone of interest to you, I encourage you to seek a bit further, read another month, use the archives to see who else might interest you, because truly, many hours are put into each and every subject!

Thank You For Stopping By! 

Missy

ATTENTION

 

WORLD WAR TWO : AGNES KEYSER'S HOSPITAL BOMBED : SHE IS ACCEPTED FULLY BY KING GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY ENJOYS A FRIENDSHIP WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY

 

In 192Agnes suffered the loss of her beloved sister Fanny who had been so instrumental in founding and administering the King Edward VII Hospital for officers. However, by the 1920's the hospital was not well enough funded. The location of the hospital was moved again and again as it struggled to survive. In January 1941, when the hospital was back to its original location at Grosvenor Crescent, the house was bombed in an air raid. "Agnes Keyser was never to recover from the shock of seeing her life's work so shattered. (Page 173)

However, she had not only the patronage of the King and Queen and their connections for her life's work - the hospital had provided medical care for hundreds of officers in three wars - but the respect she deserved for her unselfish efforts.

In her old age, the never married and childless Agnes, enjoyed invitations and outings with the Royals.

Excerpt page 173: "The diaries of King George V and Queen Mary confirm that Agnes Keyser was invited to stay at Abergeldie and dine at Balmoral for a few days each year between 1921 and 1935.  There she regularly joined the royal family on motor trips and picnics, cutting a rather eccentric figure striding over the heather in a bright mauve suit and an orange wig.  Their Balmoral garden walks were a special delight for Agnes at the king described his plans for a new pansy garden and alpine feature that was to evolve as ' Queen Mary's Garden'.  .... Sister Agnes could be relied upon to enliven the Balmoral conversation by repeating, not always with useful results, the talk of the town.  Agnes' gossip was said to include tidbits about the current indiscretions of the Prince of Wales; in this Agnes was deemed a part of an 'intelligence network' said to include Princess Victoria (King George's unmarried sister.)

Agnes moved to the countryside due to the bombings and declining health and passed in May of 1941. She left a personal estate of only 68,272 pounds. Her will provided that her property that had been used as the hospital and 25,000 pounds to continue as the hospital.  Small bequests such as personal items were distributed.

Excerpt pages 174-175 : ..."To Queen Mary she left two tables from her dining room at 16 Grosvenor Crescent, to Princess Mary (The Princess Royal) she left her "Elephant" cigarette lighter which King Edward VII had given her.... To Florence, Lady de la Rue, went the gold purse gifted to her by King George and Queen Mary and the gold cup given by Edward VII....

Note: Upon reading this I'm a bit surprised to learn that the King had gifted her some valuable treasures.

AGNES KEYSER DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR : THE KING EDWARD VII HOSPITAL FOR OFFICERS EXPANDED TO THE HOMES OF THE PEERAGE

 

Agnes Keyser maintained her social position and busied herself at the hospital she and her sister had founded and the King had been the patron of.  After his death, King Edward VII's son, King George V became the patron of King Edward's VII Hospital for Officers. The hospital that had treated officers injured in the war in South Africa now cared for the injured of World War I.

Excerpt page 144: "For Agnes Keyser the First World War was to bring a great increase in the work and expansion of her hospital. Now many of Agnes' and Alice's mutual friends were opening up their homes for the hospital's overflow of sick and wounded officers.  Agnes had succeeded in negotiating the use of several houses in London's Belgravia which belonged to such as Mrs. Rupert Beckett, Sire Walpole Greenwell, Lady Maxwell, Mr. Pandelli Ralli and Mrs. Clarence Watney. An added cachet was given to all these owners by visits to their properties by King George and Queen Mary to see the patients.  A fleet of special ambulances was also organized to meet hospital trains and ships to bring the wounded officers to the hospital.

The war effort was tremendous. Many owners of estates opened their homes for the same purpose.  There was the British Red Cross and the order of St John of Jerusalem combined to form th Joint War Committee to carry out charity work.  Many society women got involved. Alice Keppel did.

A historical note from AI and Wikipedia: On July 17, 1917, King George V officially changed the British royal family's name from the German-sounding Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the British-sounding Windsor. Driven by intense anti-German sentiment during World War I, this decision was also meant to distance the monarchy from its German roots and the Kaiser. The King's cousin was Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II decreed that her descendants (not in the direct line of succession) would bear the surname "Mountbatten-Windsor"

C 2026 Mistress Manifesto  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME

 

KING EDWARD VII DIES : AGNES KEYSER GOES INTO MOURNING : ALICE KEPPEL MUST WITHDRAWL - AGNES KEYSER'S DISCRETION MEANS AN INVITE TO THE FUNERAL

He had been smoking and coughing and falling asleep sitting up but had continued to get up each day to fulfill whatever Royal Duties he still could... He was with Alice Keppel at a hotel in Paris. His wife, Queen Alexandra, was on a cruise in the Mediterranean. They both knew he was dying. The day of his death in London, he had a cigar, saw an old friend, had a winning horse at Kempton Park, but the King also fainted twice and then fell into a coma.

Excerpt pages 129-130: ..."Before he passed into a final comatose state Queen Alexandra gave instructions that any close friends he wished to see should be allowed to visit the king. Out of this invitation Alice Keppel was to build a curious story, her version of which she was to assert for the rest of her life.

Agnes claimed she was "summoned" by the Queen to see the dying King Edward VII. Many, including courtiers, say otherwise.

Excerpt page 130: During the last days of the king's life, Alice was frantic. She knew that her lover was dying and asked to be with him. The queen had not sent for her, although, according to Sir Francis Laking, Alice had been a constant visitor to Buckingham Palace before the Queen came back from the Mediterranean.  Alice played what she thought was her trump card - she sent the Queen the letter that the King had sent her at the time of his appendix operation in 1902 which had said that if he was dying he was certain that the Queen would allow Alice to come to him.  The letter, and a further wish of the King's that Alice be invited, persuaded the Queen to allow Knollys (the King's private secretary) to contact Alice.

Alice did go to the King but she also lied that the King had asked the Queen to kiss Alice - to unite in his last hours. Alice also said that he had asked that the Royal Family look after her after his death, suggesting she expected ongoing money. Rather a witness said that the Queen shook hands with Alice and suggested that she had always been a good influence over him. Actually, she might have said that sarcastically, as reportedly Alice ran from the room and was in hysterics. In actuality the King barely recognized people at this point in his dying process.

Alice knew that she would be swamped with publicity, and so she fled to a friend's with her entourage. She was in deep grief. But she did the best thing she could to guard her position in society and went to sign a public book of condolences, as if she were just one of many people to give her regards. She found herself snubbed by the new King, Wilhelm II, who disapproved of her and would not receive her.

But Agnes Keyser and her family were acceptable.

Excerpt page 133 -134: Agnes Keyser's mourning was to be discreet, Alice Keppel's depressive and demonstrative. Leading up to the state ceremonial on 20 Ma6y there was a three-day-lying-in-state at Westminster Hall, before interment at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.  Keppels were to play a prominent part in the funeral cortege. .....  From Marlborough House, the new King's private secretary Sir Arthur Bigge wrote to the Duke of Norfolk that it was the monarch's wish that Agnes and Fanny Keyser were to be allocated seats for the funeral service at Stl George;'s Chapel, Windsor.

C 2026 Mistress Manifesto  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights