Life As A Royal Mistress
In 1898, 29-year old Keppel met Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), the 56-year-old heir apparent to the throne. It was not long before she became one of Edward's many mistresses, despite a twenty-six year age difference. The Prince instantly made her "La Favorita" and his semi-official mistress. Keppel lived at Pleasure House, East Sutton, Kent, where Edward visited her regularly, and her husband conveniently left during the visits. Her relationship with Edward would last until his death in 1910. Keppel was one of the few people in Edward VII's circle who was able to defuse his cantankerous mood swings. She was able to turn the often bored, petulant, aggressive monarch into the genial, tolerant and witty sovereign whom his people loved.
In the documentary, The life story of Alice Keppel, biographer Diana Souhami described Keppel as the "perfect royal mistress". She combined the roles of wife, mother, friend, lover, and political advisor to create an entirely new type of royal mistress. Edward's wife, Alexandra of Denmark, was fond of her and tolerant of the liaison. She preferred Keppel to Edward's previous mistress, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, whom she disliked for being indiscreet when she flaunted her position. Millicent Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Warwick's half sister, remarked that the prince was "a much pleasanter child since he changed mistresses".
Through her royal association, Keppel became richer. The King encouraged his friends like Sir Ernest Cassel to build funds that would keep her financial and social position secure. Privy purses had not been wide-open for a long time. Instead, the King gave Keppel shares in a rubber company, which in time earned her £50,000 (Almost 7.5 million today), and he also engaged his own bankers and financial advisers to handle her investments. He also got her husband a well-paid job. Historian Christopher Hibbert wrote: "George cheerfully went to work for Sir Thomas Lipton, who obligingly found him employment at the prince's instigation." With her influence, Keppel also secured her brother, "beloved Archie", a place in the royal household: he became Groom in Waiting for the last three years of King Edward VII's reign. Keppel provided for him and his family.
Read more about this topic: Alice Keppel
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