Page 50 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK

14 Notorious Royal Mistresses

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Agnes Sorel

Royal lover: Charles VII of France
Years as mistress: 1444-50

egarded as a woman of exceptional beauty, Agnes managed
to retain her royal lover’s adoration until her death. She
R was made the first official royal mistress and was granted
immense wealth to match her status. Agnes’s influence with the
king aroused jealousy, although she managed to remain on good
terms with his wife, Queen Marie. When Agnes died in 1450, it was
widely suspected that she had been poisoned, a theory that has been
supported by recent scientific discoveries.

She thought she was in with a chance
When dubbed royal mistress of France

But beauty and wealth
Can’t buy you good health
For death is the foe of romance

Mary Boleyn 4

Royallover:HenryVIIIofEngland
Years as mistress: c.1522-24/25

he most notorious of Henry VIII’s mistresses, Mary was also the elder sister
of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. Her affair with the king, however,
T was over long before her sister’s marriage. Nevertheless, at the time of their
affair Henry was married to Katherine of Aragon, while Mary had been married
to William Carey since 1520. Though Mary appears to have received little in terms
of material benefits from the relationship, her husband received a number of royal
grants suggestive of the monarch’s gratitude. The affair was conducted discreetly,
and the only public reference the king made was in 1535 when he was accused
of having an affair with both Anne Boleyn’s mother and sister. “Never with the
mother,” Henry replied firmly. Despite this, it is likely that Henry fathered Mary’s
eldest child, a daughter named Catherine. In 1543, Mary died in obscurity.

Mary played a dangerous game
And she nearly got some of the same
As her dear sister Anne
Who fell afoul of the man
Th at gave the Tudors their fame

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