A GUSHING LETTER FROM PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT TO FREDA DUDLEY WARD IS FOUND

DAILY MAIL : GUSHING LOVE LETTER FOUND  and up for auction.

See what you think of this letter that was written when the future King was only twenty-five years old!

When is the last time you wrote and sent a love letter? Leave me a comment!

AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS AND ALL THAT INTENSITY THEY DID BREAK UP FOR GOOD : FREDA DUDLEY WARD AND PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT

Dear Readers, I don't know if you've ever been obsessed with someone or someone has been obsessed with you, but I just don't think of relationships like the Prince had with Freda or she him as at all healthy.

Excerpt page 378-379/1074 e-book: For years Duddie (William  Dudley Ward), Michael, Freda, and the prince were locked in a toxic cycle that made none of them happy. the prince continued to be away often.  In 1924 and 1925 he toured America, South Africa, and South America  Since 1915 less than a third of his life had been spent in England, and such long absences were difficult for Freda and Edward.

***

Freda stopped writing to him while he was on tour in South Africa. Michael got blamed. But he already had another woman writing to him, another mistress named Audrey Coats.  (She was not a challenge and bored him.) Freda felt trapped in her marriage and was depressed, wondering which of her lovers she should choose. Her parents did not approve of the way she had lived her life. ...  Perhaps Edward was actually obsessed with himself!

In 1927 the Prince, though he had Audrey also as a mistress, and also married, was still in love with Freda. Audrey's husband died and was available to be remarried but not to the Prince. She eventually married in 1930 to an American, Marshall Field III of the Chicago department store family and moved to New York!  

Freda also had an affair that year with a rich American, the heir to the Wanamaker department stores! Michael thought she was being cruel to him.  And on it went.  Then Freda did divorce but it made no difference. She and the Prince had always known they could not marry. 

What happened was Thelma Morgan Furness.

For all the intensity and all the years that Freda and the Prince were involved with each other, they finally let go. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if they had wisely done so years earlier.  Breaking up is hard to do, and reading this account, it sounded like torture to me.

I ask YOU, if you've ever been locked into a relationship that should have ended years before!

Missy

AN EXTENDED TOUR MEANS THAT FREDA DUDLEY WARD AND PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT MUST BE APART: HE WAS MORE IN LOVE WITH HER THAN SHE WITH HIM

In March of 1920, after the war had ended, Edward was sent on a 7 month tour of Australia and New Zealand. Parting was sweet sorrow and may have made his love for Freda stronger. He continued to depend on her letters to lift his spirits. He also hoped she might be pregnant with his child. Possibly the prince was not able to beget a child. And one does wonder if she had any desire to have another child at all, let alone with a man she could never marry. Even if she was widowed, rather than divorced, there would have been objections to her becoming his wife and eventual Queen.

Excerpt page 287/1074 e-book : Separated from the flesh-and-blood Freda, he idolized her; she became his Madonna or goddess whom he worshipped. ...

Excerpt page 289/1074 e-book:  Edward believed  that Freda was good for him. He claimed that she had set him high standards that he tried to live up to. In both his private and public life. She had made him more of a man and less of a boy. He wrote to her that if only they could live together, "I would become of some use perhaps and have a will of my own and be strong!'...

*****

Back at the palace, the King and Queen - and his brother Bertie - who would eventually take the throne after he abdicated - were concerned that Prince Edward Albert continue to be groomed for his eventual role as King and they wanted him to break with Freda. Freda knew it and believed she should let him go but he wouldn't allow it.

Excerpt page303/1074 e-book:  As with Wallis during the abdication crisis, Edward just would not let Freda go, and bit by bit he eroded her resolve. He used every form of emotional blackmail he could muster....

*****

Back from the tour he wanted to spend every moment with Freda. They tried to be 'just friends' but the passion and love was too strong.  Maybe Freda was tiring of his devotion, for she went ahead and had an intense affair, beginning in 1918, with a man named Michael Herbert, a rich banker with a high status in society, a good reputation and connections and had also fought in World War I. Throughout the 1920's she continued have both lovers. It would seem Michael Herbert was as obsessed with her as the Prince. The two men knew of each other, were jealous of each other, and Freda juggled them, prioritizing the Prince when he was not away on a tour. 

Michael wanted to marry Freda and in 1922 there was talk of the Dudley's divorcing.  But she decided against it because the law at the time was such that she might loose custody of her daughters. Divorces were rare, there was a stigma to it and consequences. 

The Prince had many affairs including with women who were in Freda's social circle. It was clear that these relationships were becoming impossible.

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PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT - FREDA DUDLEY WARD - HER HUSBAND - HER CHILDREN : BUT WHO KNEW THE RELATIONSHIP WAS SO CLOSE?

I suppose when your wife is the most desired woman by a Royal person, especially a Prince who will be King, there is not much you can say.  At least in this case William Dudley Ward wasn't sent away. Freda and William had two daughters before Freda had her affair with Prince Edward, and besides feeling comfortable in the home she made for them, he also reportedly adored the daughters. The four of them had fun together and the children called him Little Prince and were taught to think of as an uncle.

In this passage from Rachel Trethewey's book we learn that he was taking the role of husband and father.

Excerpt Page 263-264/1074 e-book : 

When they were together Edward and Freda created a happy environment for the girls. They never rowed; Freda told an interviewer that he was the gentlest, kindest, most thoughtful man imaginable.  Angie (one of the daughters) recalled how the heir to the throne always gave in to her mother; if she made a proposal to him he would reply, 'Anything to please, anything to please.' Freda explained that if she asked him for anything he was very generous and would give it to her immediately.  However, unlike Wallis (Simpson - the woman he would eventually marry and give up the throne for) she never exploited his generosity. He brought her gifts back from his tours and sent her sentimental presents, but there is no record of him giving her priceless jewelry. Freda used her power over him more for other people's benefit than her own. She once asked him to bail out a friend of hers, who was heavily in debt for several thousand pounds. The prince immediately wrote out a cheque without asking any questions.

*****

Much of London Society knew. His parents, the King and Queen did not.  At one point Prince Edward Albert wanted his siblings to meet Freda. The newspapers didn't report it thought the government knew.  Though they were seen golfing or going to the horse races together, and acted as if they were a married couple, it took a while for the King and Queen to hear rumors that their son was involved with a married woman who he could never marry.

Excerpt page 267-268/1074 e-book:

When his parents eventually asked the prince about his new relationship, he denied it, saying that he did not know Freda better than anyone else. When they later learned the truth they were horrified. The king snobbishly dubbed Freda 'the lace-maker's daughter.'  When Freda's friends heard about this comment they made a joke if it and started calling her 'Miss Loom.' after the weaver's daughter in the card game Happy Families.  Freda knew that the king and queen regarded her as 'a scarlet woman'. She believed that they were always pushing the prince to marry someone of his own rank.

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FREDA DUDLEY WARD AND PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT : REAL FRIENDSHIP

Excerpt page 225/1074 e-book : Freda felt secure in Edward's affections because she knew that she had a powerful hold over him Her power was emotional as much as sexual; increasingly she was not just the prince's lover, she was his confidante and he relied on her for advice  His letters refer to the pleasures of talking to her more often than they mention their sexual encounters. He described her as a real friend to whom he could say anything he felt. He become depressed and anxious if he could not unburden his soul to her regularly....

*****

Was the prince immature and needy as the author, Rachel Trethewey suggests, mentioning that he sometimes baby talked?  Leave me a comment!

Excerpt page 229/1074 e-book:  Freda had a deep understanding of her lover's psychology. Edward soon trusted his mistress enough to be totally honest with her about every aspect of his existence.

*****

Apparently in his letters Prince Edward Albert, who was destined to be the King of England, like some of the other royal men I've written about here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO, revealed that he wasn't especially ambitious to be a King and had doubts about the monarchy, thinking it was out of date. He thought of Windsor as a prison and he soon managed to get a house of his own, York House, where he could spend less time with them. Still, he had promised his father that he would take his place and preserve it, especially because the World War I, then called The Great War, had stirred up a fear of Bolshevism,a revolutionary socialist political ideology and system introduced by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party in Russia.  It would seem that the man who eventually gave up his throne might not have wanted it much all along.

*****

I can't help but think of present-day Great Britain, and the questions about the future of the monarchy there. I think about King Charles III and the task at hand to modernize it.  

Missy

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WORLD WAR I EFFECTS THE RELATIONSHIP OF PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT AND FREDA DUDLEY WARD : PASSIONATE LETTERS

The Prince and Freda seemed to at once feel comfortable with each other and as if they knew each other and that they had common interests and sensibilities.  That says a lot. Soon they were meeting regularly for trysts. Apparently they were also compatible in that way.  His passion for her was considered to be "all consuming"

Excerpt page 217/1074 e-book : If they were apart he would phone her four and five times a night and he would be bereft if she was not in.

*****

Missy here!  I have to wonder if she knew that not being available all the time would keep him interested or if she was simply busy with her own life. Something about Freda gives me the impression that she knew she did need to have a life that was all her own, that didn't always include him.That she had other affairs over the years gives me that impression.

World War I was ongoing and the Prince's father didn't want him having a good time in London, and sent him to Italy, so he wasn't exactly easily available to her either. The intense bombardment of letters continued.

Excerpt page 218-220/1074 e-book:  Once in Italy at the end of March (1918) the prince bombarded Freda with dozens of letters written to "'My Angel' and signed with 'tons and tons of love from your EA. Many were written late at night as he sat in his room trying to recreate her essence by putting some drops of her scent, 'Royal Briar,' on his handkerchief.  He would look at her photograph, which was kept in a little leather frame by his bed when it was not in his picket, and kiss it  He told her that thinking of her made him feel 'fearfully naughty,.' To conjure u their time together he would smoke a cigarette and play their special tunes, 'Have a Heart' and 'The Little Cottage' on his gramophone It was as though he could only go to sleep once he had jotted down his every thought and experience and shared it with her. His letters were often in pencil and full of spelling and grammatical errors. .....

The prince told his mistress that her letters were the only joy of his dull existence, but it also seems that Freda was not so single0minded. She was working with a Voluntary Aid Detachment, nursing at a hospital in Ascot and then Windsor.

*****

It's been a long time since I had a letter writing relationship, but I believe in letters. Today I suppose the Prince might be texting with her or calling her several times a day on his cell phone.

Missy

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PRINCE EDWARD PURSUED THE MARRIED BUT LONELY AND BORED FREDA DUDLEY WARD PASSIONATLEY and DISCREETLY

Before her 19th birthday, Winifred Mary Birkin married William Dudley Ward.  She had been expelled from a private girl's boarding school for climbing over a fence with some friends to go to the horse races at Ascot.  (!) These were the days when aristocratic young women were educated but not so intellectually. Her mother was American and she went on a vacation to American by steamship to visit her mother's relatives. Onboard she met William.  He was sixteen years older than she, but handsome, athletic and after years of bachelorhood, they had what is described as a whirlwind of a romance.  Maybe he need to get married because he soon entered politics. (Shades of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier?) While Freda's family had money, the marriage elevated her into London society and close to the Royal Family.

Excerpt page 212/1074 e-book : However, by the time the Freda met the prince her marriage was already under strain.  .... With her husband spending late nights in parliament, Freda was bored and soon found new ways of amusing herself.

Her marriage did not prevent her relationship with the price developing rapidly. After their first encounter, Edward (the Prince) wrote to 'Mrs. Dudley Ward' at Lowndes Square proposing another meeting. This caused some confusion with her mother-in-law at the time  The older woman opened the letter and thought that the price wanted to visit her.  Mrs. Dudley Ward Senior invited Edward to tea, which was not quite the assignation he had hoped for. However, this was only a temporary setback and nothing would deter the prince from being with Freda...For Freda, having the most eligible bachelor in the world chasing after her must have been intoxicating.  His charm was legendary. ...

Excerpt page 213/1074 : The besotted couple found ways to be together almost every day.  Their relationship soon became the talk of society.

*****

Like other couples in the same ah - predicament - the homes of friends became the places the two could meet and carry out their relationship without being detected. This included the home of one of her husband's sisters.

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WINIFRED MAY BIRKIN = FREDA DUDLEY WARD : SIXTEEN YEARS AS THE ACKNOWLEDGED MISTRESS OF PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT : HER STORYTELLING AND SENSE OF HUMOR LEAD TO A VIBRANT SOCIAL LIFE

My coverage of  "Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward" - I have rarely heard her name without the Mrs. when it comes to the Prince - comes primarily from this book, which also includes other loves, pre-Wallis Simpson, whom Edward VIII married, and then. The story of the King who gave up his throne rather than not marry an American divorcee is forever fascinating. (Shades of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan?) First there was Rosemary, then Freda, then Thelma, and then Wallis. For the Prince there were probably others before his marriage.

Freda and the then Prince Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, were involved for about sixteen years, beginning in 1918. That is one long relationship but she/they were so discreet the public didn't know. Their relationship was an open secret to society though and, as has been the case with other Royal Mistresses I've profiled here, her husband could not have not known. She was already married to William Dudley Ward and had two daughters when she and the Prince met. William was a much older man and was used to a lifestyle that included having affairs.  Marriage didn't tame him.  And so it would seem that, like other husbands whose wives become Royal Mistresses, he didn't mind and if he did, well -

The Prince, as described here, was obsessively in love with Freda, however, their relationship was one in which both knew that they could never marry. They also both knew that he must marry. Were they both faithful to each other? No!  A surprise for me was learning that actually their relationship became a Triad. It wasn't just the adultery; Freda and her husband and the Prince. It was also that Freda had a relationship with a man named Michael and so it became Freda and Michael and the Prince.

Now, I usually like to excerpt from the books I read cover to cover, focusing on information that I think is most essential to further the story and meet my reader's interest. But I have to tell you that I read this one as an e-book, so when I excerpt the page numbers will be the e-book and not the hardback. It's always my hope that my curation of books on a subject and the choice of a book or books or other media will encourage my readers to also get the book and read it from cover to cover. 

FREDA DUDLEY WARD

Image from Wikimedia - Public Domain 

1894-1983

Name at birth WINIFRED MAY BIRKIN

Name at marriage FREDA DUDLEY WARD 

(Wife of WILLIAM DUDLY WARD from 1913-1931 divorced.)

Name at second marriage WINIFRED MAY MONES, MARQUESA DE CASA MAURY 

(Married the Cuban-born businessman in 1937; they divorced in 1954.)

*******

Freda and the Prince kept an earnest correspondence and circa 1918 he would also telephone her four or five times a night. His father King George didn't want his son, who was not going to enter the Great War in the military out of London, so he was sent to Italy:

*****

Excerpt page e-book 218-222/1074 : 

Once in Italy at the end of March, the prince bombarded Freda with dozens of letters written to "My Angel" and signed with "tons and tons of love from your E.  Many were written late at night, as he sat in his room trying to recreate her essence by putting some drops of her scent, "Royal Briar", on his handkerchief. He would look at her photograph, which was kept in a little leather frame by his bed when it was not in his pocket, and kiss it. He told her that thinking of her made him feel "Fearfully naughty." To conjure up their time together he would smoke a cigarette and play their special tunes "Have a Heart' and 'The Little Cottage' on his gramophone. It was as though he could only go to sleep once he had jotted down his every thought and experience and shared it with her. His letters were often in pencil and full of spelling and grammatical errors. At first the notes were littered with swear words, but it seems that Freda told him off, so he tried to stop using bad language in correspondence with her.  However, he continued to send her puerile jokes and rhymes which he thought might amuse her.

The prince told his mistress that her letters were the only joy of his dull existence, but it seems that Freda was not so single minded. She was working with a Voluntary Aid Detachments, nursing at a hospital in Ascot and then in Windsor.  There was a photo of the Prince of Wales hung u in the ward where she worked scrubbing floors, and she looked at it occasionally. While Edward was away she had a brief fling with Captain Reginald Seymour, great grandson of the Marquess of Hertford. ....

Freda was equally worldly-wise, and she did not show any concern when the prince admitted to flirtations with other women. While in Rome in May 1918 he attended a party where he misbehaved with some attractive VADs. As was to become his habit, he half confessed to Freda about these incidents but played them down, perhaps partly to salve his conscience while making her jealous or 'thulky' (as they called it in their baby talk). He promised to never to lie to her again and told her : 'I just "grovel" at my idol's feet asking forgiveness.'

Shall we begin?

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THE BERESFORDS ATTEMPT TO PREVAIL OVER DAISY AND THE PRINCE BUT THEIR WARWICK TITLES WERE SOON RECIEVED : DAISY'S SPENDING IS OUT OF CONTROL

That passionate letter Daisy had once sent to her lover, the married Charles Beresford, continued to cause problems.

In 1891, Charlie Beresford threatened The Prince. If his wife, Mina, Lady Beresford, was not restored to her place in society, he would publish Daisy's letter. He was going to use the 19th century media. Beresford let the prime minister know this too. Would the prime minister tell the Prince what to do or would the Prince tell the prime minster? The prime minster was savvy. He said that the social laws of their class were such that it would not be appropriate for Charlie to disgrace his former mistress by making her affair with the Prince public.  Additionally, one had to consider what it would do to the Princess Alexandra if the public got a whiff of what her husband was up to.  Round and round it went, with Charlie expecting an apology to his wife, her reinstatement, and for Daisy to be banished for one year.

Frances Greville considered divorce but threw that idea out soon enough. She was "the devil he knew." In 1893 Frances Greville became the fifth Earl of Warwick and he and Daisy moved into Warwick Castle.

Excerpt page 201: ... "Daisy agreed to withdraw from court for a short period of time. This really was not much of a penance for Daisy; everybody loved her - with the exception of Mina - and as acknowledged mistress of the Prince of Wales, she could do as she please.  At this stage, Bertie's love for Daisy never faltered. The prince continued to write adoring letters to his "darling Daisywife." and Daisy continued to receive his attentions, recalling in late life that "he had manners and he was very considerate."

Daisy was still in trouble with her husband though. He had taken a decade or more of Daisy's unfaithful behavior at their family home, Easton Lodge. He knew a lot and he felt foolish. It wasn't that the Prince of Wales got the most attention from Daisy all those years, but that she had gone wild and had entertained many lovers there. She had also sold off the contents of Warwick Castle to continuing to finance her extravagant lifestyle!

She threw a party at Christmas time, before they moved into the Castle, in which she spared no expense for the children of their estate. Electric lights blazed, the tree was heavy with gifts. She gave fur-lined coats to servants and bags of toys to the children. Each member of her house party left with silverware and jewels. The Greville estate employed dozens who made their lives - and that of their many guests - comfortable and beautiful.

Excerpt pages 202-203

..."At five o'clock the fifty household servants left their duties in order to arrange themselves on either side of the ballroom, and the village children were ushered in. Behind the children came one hundred outside workmen, gamekeepers, woodman, gardeners, estate artisans, stablemen, and motormen....

Then, after the Grevilles had moved into the castle, Daisy threw another party, and this one was a ball with four hundred guests who wore eighteenth century court dress in the colors white and gold. She dressed as Queen Marie Antoinette. She had the castle remodeled and refurbished it so that the walls were hung with tapestries. Candles and chandeliers illuminated the party and white flowers such as lilies from France perfumed the air. In her way she was trying to make Warwick Castle into the Palace of Versailles for one night.

This party, which was highly criticized in a small newspaper called Clarion would lead to a sort of conversion for Daisy. Her kindness and over the top generosity was in place but she would begin to turn her attention to the poor and become a socialist!

Unlike some of the Royal mistresses we have learned about here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO, Daisy had a tremendous personal estate and was a member of the peerage. Her husband was also rich and they inherited a historic castle. It is unsaid, but it's also likely that the Prince gave her gifts such as jewelry. Perhaps beautiful Daisy simply had no idea what it was to live without, the way all those good people, though employed by her estate, had to.

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ELINOR GLYN RECALLED THE DAYS OF THE MARLBOROUGH HOUSE SET - THE GARDEN OF FRIENDSHIP : DAISY IS RECOGNIZED AS THE KING'S MISTRESS

Although he may have tolerated his wife's adultery with the future King, Prince Edward Albert, Daisy's husband, Frances Greville was one to play too.

Although Daisy, as mistress to the future King went here, there, everywhere with him and was not a secret to society or his wife, Princess Alexandra, they mostly met at Easton Lodge, Daisy's own fabulous estate.  

Excerpt pages 156-157 :

"... The gardens, with red deer in the distance beneath the shade of the ancient trees, were a favorite trysting place for Daisy's guests. One of these was young Elinor Glyn, last seen as a little girl on Jersey, hiding under the dressing table at Government House in order to spy on Lillie Langtry. Now a beautiful young woman in her own right, with green eyes and the "most beautiful red hair I have ever seen" Elinor had been taken up by daisy as something of a fellow spirit. Elinor had recently married one of Daisy's neighbors, an Essex landowner and barrister named Clayton Glyn, and settled in a nearby mansion named Sheerings.  As a young beauty, Elinor was receiving the cold shoulder from the ladies of the country set, who "had lost their complexions on the hunting field and started incredulously at her, as though nobody had a right to be as pretty as that. After meeting Elinor at a dismal hunt ball, Daisy immediately befriended her, and invited her and her husband to stay at Easton..."

Page 157 :  On the very first evening of Elinor's visit to Easton, Daisy's husband Brookie, invited Elinor to come and inspect "the rosarie," Daisy's newly planted rose garden. Elinor accepted the invitation, but the moment that they were alone Brookie seized her in his arms, embraced her passionately, and told her that she was, by far the loveliest rose in the garden. Elinor Screamed in horror and ran inside to report the incident to her husband.  When Elinor told Clayton that their host had made a pass at her, Clayton laughed out loud and exclaimed; "Did he, by Jove!  Good old Brookie'

.... Elinor later recorded her impression of Daisy and the astonishing and scandalous world of Easton, w world that would provide inspiration for the sensational romantic novels that were to make Elinor's fortune.

"No one who stayed at Easton ever forget their hostess and most of the men fell hopelessly in love with her," Elinor Recalled.

READING UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS : AUTHOR SCREENWRITEELINOR GLYN

Excerpts: Elinor Glyn (1864-1943) was chiefly known for popular romantic fiction and for Hollywood film scripts. She specialized in romantic, often risqué, fiction and popularized the concept of the ‘It-girl’. She had a great influence on early twentieth century popular culture and the careers of several early Hollywood stars. ..... In 1919, she signed a contract with William Randolph Hearst’s International Magazine Company. She was brought over to the USA by Famous Players-Lasky Production Company to write screenplays. She also wrote for Cosmopolitan Magazine. The screenplay of her novel “It” helped her gain popularity as a screenwriter. In 1920, she moved to work in Hollywood where she became one of the most famous women screenwriters of the 1920s working with MGM and Paramount. She also had a brief career as one of the earliest female directors.

(It was Elinor who first came up with the notion of the "it girl" - the woman who has "it."

Missy here!

Daisy was also popular with her tenants and staff. She was considered to be kind and generous in her dealings with them. I think it's important to know that she had that character before she notoriously became a socialist. However, at this time in her life, about 1881, she still had Mina Beresford hating her and her husband was also tired of her behavior. 

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EDWARD ALBERT PRINCE OF WALES INTERCEEDS IN THE DAISY GREVILLE - MINA AND CHARLES BERESFORD SCANDAL

Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, paid a visit to the lawyer that Mina Beresford had hired to negotiate for her and her marriage.

The lawyer was impressed that the Prince himself had paid him a home visit - even thought he'd arrived in the wee hours of the night. He, unprofessionally, showed the Prince the letter Daisy Warwick had written to Charlie Beresford. The Prince ordered him to destroy the letter but this lawyer wasn't going to act that unprofessionally...

Instead he suggested he ask his client if he could destroy it. Was he joking? Mina stood her ground unwilling to bend to the Prince's will. That made him furious.  So, what he decided to do was to return to Mina and ask her if she would be willing to destroy the letter on one condition.  Daisy would be banned from London for the entire social season.

Missy here!  I have to say that this might have been an excellent and fair solution. Though society would undoubtedly know why, and Daisy might suffer socially, it was only one season.

 

The solution infuriated Daisy. The Prince, now fallen in love with Daisy, tried one more time. This time he suggested that if Mina would not destroy the letter and forget the whole thing, that by his orders she, not Daisy, would suffer the ostracism and give up her own position in society. She refused to change her mind.  Charlie had also tried to persuade his wife to give up and destroy Daisy's letter. 

Excerpt page 152: ... "As one of the offending parties, Charlie had kept a low profile, hoping that the problem would just resolve itself. But now, upon hearing rumors that Bertie had stollen Daisy away from him, Charlie cast aside all attempts at diplomacy.  Due to set said on the HMS Undaunted, Charlie demanded to see Bertie immediately, and have the matter out once and for all. The two men argues. In the end the Beresfords lost because they did not comply with Edward Albert. He demanded of their set that they not be invited to any event that they invited him to. They were dropped from society. Meanwhile Mina's lawyer was knighted.

By now Daisy Greville Countess of Warwick and Edward Albert Prince of Wales had become lovers. Charlie Beresford knew it too. Daisy had lost at love, had to give up this great love affair of hers, and now she was one of the mistresses of the future King. She became the star of the house parties and her husband had no choice but to accept or retreat.  Over time he would retreat.

Excerpts Pages 154-155:

 ... "This was a world that Daisy adored, and she played the role of mistress to perfection, accompanying Bertie to balls, receptions, country house parties, and horse racing at Ascot, Goodwood, and Epsom.  The correspondent of The World magazine, craning her neck to see Daisy at the opera with Bertie, described, a 'goddess whose fame had penetrated even to the dim recesses of the placid country, her profile was turned away from an inquisitive world, but I made out a rounded figure, diaphanously draped, and a brilliant, haughty, beautiful countenance." the diaphanous fabric became Daisy's signature look, a fittingly classical style to show off her superb figure to its uttermost....."

... "Daisy and Bertie's affair was conducted against the backdrop of London society, and the stately homes of England, particularly Daisy's own Easton Lodge."

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