Reasons A Royal Mistress Was Taken
The primary reason a king would take a mistress seems to be the fact that royal marriages were rarely, if ever, based on love alone. Most often, English monarchs made a dynastic match, first for the production of heirs of royal blood and second for the treaties and huge dowry that often accompanied such brides. Compatibility was rarely considered in the contracting of these marriages.
Often, these brides were stringently instilled with a sense of chastity that often developed into sexual frigidity. To a king whose sexual appetites were often nurtured by friends and father-figures from a young age, this was a difficult barrier to surmount. This, added to the fact that often there was no physical attraction between the two royal partners, creates a situation which, to the sensibilities of the time, necessitated the establishment of a royal mistress.
Read more about this topic: English Royal Mistress
Famous quotes containing the words reasons, royal and/or mistress:
“There may be other reasons for a man’s not speaking in publick than want of resolution: he may have nothing to say.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“a highly respectable gondolier,
Who promised the Royal babe to rear
And teach him the trade of a timoneer
With his own beloved brattling.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“God bless the master of this house,
Likewise the mistress too:”
—Unknown. God Bless the Master of This House (l. 1–2)