Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Monday, April 15, 2019
PAMELA CHURCHILL and WALLIS SIMPSON, the DUCHESS OF WINDSOR - FAST FRIENDS
Both Pamela Churchill and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, had been shunned by British society despite their social status - Pamela's was born with, Wallis' acquired with marriage. They were both divorced women. And Wallis had been a Mistress before she was a wife. (Page 180) Though Pamela was twenty-four years younger than Wallis, they had much in common. They both coaxed their beauty, dressed exquisitely, and learned to entertain in beautiful surroundings. The Duchess was kind and affectionate to her young-enough-to-be-a-daughter friend.
Alexander Liberman ( who worked for Conde Nast Magazines such as Vanity Fair) said of Pamela in the 1950's "She was part of a very grand tradition of mistresses kept on a grand scale." But British aristocrats made fun of Pamela, just as she'd been made fun of by some of her peers as a debutante. And as always she kept a game face, acting as if she were not bothered or even knew.
For all her energy, her championing of her men, Pamela didn't have much of a sense of humor. While not putting pressure on a man, she would try to make one jealous with another. She shared many a man with his wife - and perhaps other women too - let them end the relationship - and stuck around for the friendship.
Wallis Simpson was our Mistress of the Month for January 2010 and is also mentioned in August 2018's Mistresses of the Riviera,
Alexander Liberman ( who worked for Conde Nast Magazines such as Vanity Fair) said of Pamela in the 1950's "She was part of a very grand tradition of mistresses kept on a grand scale." But British aristocrats made fun of Pamela, just as she'd been made fun of by some of her peers as a debutante. And as always she kept a game face, acting as if she were not bothered or even knew.
For all her energy, her championing of her men, Pamela didn't have much of a sense of humor. While not putting pressure on a man, she would try to make one jealous with another. She shared many a man with his wife - and perhaps other women too - let them end the relationship - and stuck around for the friendship.
Wallis Simpson was our Mistress of the Month for January 2010 and is also mentioned in August 2018's Mistresses of the Riviera,
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
PAMELA CHURCHILL and BARON ELIE DE ROTHSCHILD - A BANKING FORTUNE LOVER
Having not married Gianni Agnelli, in 1954 Pamela Churchill was the lover and kept companion of Jewish Banking fortune's Eli de Rothschild. He thought of her as a "European Geisha" (Page 168) rather than a Courtesan. As she had with other men, she catered to him, did everything his way, and learned about the things that interested him. You could say that Pamela reflected the men she was involved with. The married Eli had many mistresses but overall he was rather cheap with her. She had her own money and he thought it was great that Gianni Agnelli had provided so much for Pamela that he didn't have to!
She was not entirely dependent on the men who kept her.
"Her technique was straightforward. "Darling, I saw the most beautiful bracelet today," She would tell Elie. "Would you go by and take a look and see if you like it?" (Her might not.) Still, Pamela made Eli feel honored to provide for her. (Page 170)
Mistresses were OK with Eli's wife Liliane but since Pamela wanted to marry Eli she felt it was her duty to make this mistress's life difficult. Let go from the job of being a muse of sorts to a man once again, Pamela played as if she were carefree rather than hurt. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she didn't love him. She now worked to maintain her skin and figure and bought couture clothing. She kept herself and waited for her next conquest.
C 2019 All Rights Reserved. Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot
Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory is the primary reference for this post.
She was not entirely dependent on the men who kept her.
"Her technique was straightforward. "Darling, I saw the most beautiful bracelet today," She would tell Elie. "Would you go by and take a look and see if you like it?" (Her might not.) Still, Pamela made Eli feel honored to provide for her. (Page 170)
Mistresses were OK with Eli's wife Liliane but since Pamela wanted to marry Eli she felt it was her duty to make this mistress's life difficult. Let go from the job of being a muse of sorts to a man once again, Pamela played as if she were carefree rather than hurt. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she didn't love him. She now worked to maintain her skin and figure and bought couture clothing. She kept herself and waited for her next conquest.
C 2019 All Rights Reserved. Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot
Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory is the primary reference for this post.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Sunday, April 7, 2019
PAMELA DIGBY CHURCHILL and GIANNI AGNELLI - SHE WANTED TO MARRY HIM BUT HE DIDN'T LEAVE HIS PREGNANT WIFE
He was 27. She was 28. He invited her to leave the house of Aly Khan, where she remained even though she'd been left behind. Her affair with Aly was over. She went on a cruise with Gianni Agnelli to Capri. Soon he installed Pamela in his own villa which was not so far from the one she'd been left in that belonged to Aly.
Like Aly, Gianni was a man who saw women as conquests. It wasn't love that motivated him. But Gianni had met his match in that it wasn't love for her either. At least not right away.
She carefully worked to have him. Pamela established herself as a symbol of a man's importance. She was good at marketing herself. She had connections every man in business wanted. She helped him network - and that included Americans in the United States. She was an outstanding hostess. She could easily entertain on short notice. She was there for him.
A big plus for Pamela was that Gianni took interest in her son, little Winston, named after his grandfather, the legendary Winston Churchill I. Gianni bought her an apartment in Paris, small but with wonderful views. It was a grand place made special by hiring an esteemed decorator to make it beautiful. The decorator even purchased silk woven for Queen Marie Antoinette to upholster. To give you some idea of Pamela as Mistress's spending, an estimated $10,000 a year was spent just on fresh flowers for the apartment. In 1950 she gave up her London apartment that was rented by Averill Harriman and Agnelli got her another one which was larger, less glamorous, but one more to decorate exquisitely.
Gianni Agnelli gambled and partied. Some say that he always had other women and that his relationship with Pamela was not so much about sex, that she earned her keep by providing him contacts. However in Paris she was accepted as his mistress even though this also probably meant that she could not be considered a potential wife.
A chameleon who changed herself - even her accent - with each new important man in her life, Pamela was quiet and often spoke only to uphold her man to be admired by others.
Then she became pregnant and Gianni had her abort. Her marriage to Randolph Churchill was in the process of divorce. They couldn't have married even if he wanted to. Anticipating that her Protestantism was an obstacle, in the spring of 1950 she converted to Catholicism. She had her marriage to Randolph annulled by the Catholic Church, saying she had been young and foolish, which was granted in 1953. This so she and Gianni and she could marry in the church as his family expected.
She turned thirty.
What was the problem? His family, especially his sisters, were opposed to her. She knew it was over but she did not move on. His family introduced him to Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto. He married the Princess three months pregnant.
But once again Pamela Churchill kept the friendship.
She was 33 when it was over. Now what?
C 2019 All Rights Reserved Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot
Note: The primary reference for posts on Pamela Digby Churchill Harriman is Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory.
Like Aly, Gianni was a man who saw women as conquests. It wasn't love that motivated him. But Gianni had met his match in that it wasn't love for her either. At least not right away.
She carefully worked to have him. Pamela established herself as a symbol of a man's importance. She was good at marketing herself. She had connections every man in business wanted. She helped him network - and that included Americans in the United States. She was an outstanding hostess. She could easily entertain on short notice. She was there for him.
A big plus for Pamela was that Gianni took interest in her son, little Winston, named after his grandfather, the legendary Winston Churchill I. Gianni bought her an apartment in Paris, small but with wonderful views. It was a grand place made special by hiring an esteemed decorator to make it beautiful. The decorator even purchased silk woven for Queen Marie Antoinette to upholster. To give you some idea of Pamela as Mistress's spending, an estimated $10,000 a year was spent just on fresh flowers for the apartment. In 1950 she gave up her London apartment that was rented by Averill Harriman and Agnelli got her another one which was larger, less glamorous, but one more to decorate exquisitely.
Gianni Agnelli gambled and partied. Some say that he always had other women and that his relationship with Pamela was not so much about sex, that she earned her keep by providing him contacts. However in Paris she was accepted as his mistress even though this also probably meant that she could not be considered a potential wife.
A chameleon who changed herself - even her accent - with each new important man in her life, Pamela was quiet and often spoke only to uphold her man to be admired by others.
Then she became pregnant and Gianni had her abort. Her marriage to Randolph Churchill was in the process of divorce. They couldn't have married even if he wanted to. Anticipating that her Protestantism was an obstacle, in the spring of 1950 she converted to Catholicism. She had her marriage to Randolph annulled by the Catholic Church, saying she had been young and foolish, which was granted in 1953. This so she and Gianni and she could marry in the church as his family expected.
She turned thirty.
What was the problem? His family, especially his sisters, were opposed to her. She knew it was over but she did not move on. His family introduced him to Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto. He married the Princess three months pregnant.
But once again Pamela Churchill kept the friendship.
She was 33 when it was over. Now what?
C 2019 All Rights Reserved Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot
Note: The primary reference for posts on Pamela Digby Churchill Harriman is Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
PAMELA DIGBY CHURCHILL HARRIMAN - MISTRESS TO PRINCE ALI SALMAN AGA KHAN
This month we continue our focus on Pamela Digby Churchill Harriman which began last month. Digby was her maiden name. Churchill was her first married name which she kept; the name of her son by Randolph Churchill was named Winston after his grandfather. Harriman was her surname for her last, third marriage. Called The Courtesan of the 20th Century, this month we begin on her 20 year career as a Kept Woman. Pamela proves to us that you can make the most of yourself and even become an important player in politics. You can go from a not so terrific start to a very terrific finish.
In June of 1947, Pamela was in Paris when she met a man who some called an International Playboy, Aga Khan. (Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan had as a mistress the model Bettina when he died. Bettina Graziani, born Simon Micheline Bodine, was our Mistress of the Month for June 2015.) Aga was popular in English society. His mother was Italian and he was born in Italy. He was educated in England.
He had many conquests that included the wives of his friends. He traveled constantly and seemed to have endless energy. He was generous when it came to travel and accommodations to his friends though not with money or presents.
In July of 1947 Aga and Pamela were known to be lovers. The rumors were strong that he loved to give pleasure to women while holding back himself, that he liked to drive them crazy with passion for him. Pamela had the energy to keep up with this man. He afforded her travel on his private plane. She visited his house on the Riviera. (See Mistresses of the Riviera, month of August 2018.)
Maybe Pamela Churchill was only a part of his harem, but her relationship with Aga Khan allowed her to mix with International society, where she continued to learn to be a social sophisticate and catered to powerful and monied men, while keeping herself open to the idea of an eventual husband.
Their relationship didn't work out. But Pamela stuck around after things cooled between them. It became a classic Pamela Churchill move. She didn't take his big hint that it was over. He even left her at one of his houses and didn't come back. But also classic of Pamela was that they remained good friends. And because she waited where she could meet more men, she did. Gianni Agnelli.
C 2009 Mistress Manifesto Blogspot All Rights Reserved
Primary reference for these posts is Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory.
In June of 1947, Pamela was in Paris when she met a man who some called an International Playboy, Aga Khan. (Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan had as a mistress the model Bettina when he died. Bettina Graziani, born Simon Micheline Bodine, was our Mistress of the Month for June 2015.) Aga was popular in English society. His mother was Italian and he was born in Italy. He was educated in England.
He had many conquests that included the wives of his friends. He traveled constantly and seemed to have endless energy. He was generous when it came to travel and accommodations to his friends though not with money or presents.
In July of 1947 Aga and Pamela were known to be lovers. The rumors were strong that he loved to give pleasure to women while holding back himself, that he liked to drive them crazy with passion for him. Pamela had the energy to keep up with this man. He afforded her travel on his private plane. She visited his house on the Riviera. (See Mistresses of the Riviera, month of August 2018.)
Maybe Pamela Churchill was only a part of his harem, but her relationship with Aga Khan allowed her to mix with International society, where she continued to learn to be a social sophisticate and catered to powerful and monied men, while keeping herself open to the idea of an eventual husband.
Their relationship didn't work out. But Pamela stuck around after things cooled between them. It became a classic Pamela Churchill move. She didn't take his big hint that it was over. He even left her at one of his houses and didn't come back. But also classic of Pamela was that they remained good friends. And because she waited where she could meet more men, she did. Gianni Agnelli.
C 2009 Mistress Manifesto Blogspot All Rights Reserved
Primary reference for these posts is Sally Bedell Smith's book Reflected Glory.
Monday, April 1, 2019
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