1. Anne Boleyn
Arguably the most infamous mistress on this list is Lady Anne Boelyn. A mistress turned queen, she is one of the most recognizable names in English history. Ironically enough, she managed to procure her king’s favor without “technically” sleeping with him some sources say. She used her beauty and wit to charm Henry VIII into divorcing his current queen, Catherine of Aragon and marrying her instead. Whether or not the couple actually had a physical relationship before his divorce is lost to history, but regardless, she pursued a married man and led him astray.
At first, Anne seemed to have everything she could have ever wanted. Henry married her, crowned her queen, and she became pregnant shortly thereafter. Yet trouble arrived in paradise following the birth of the couple’s daughter, Elizabeth. The fact that Elizabeth was not a boy combined with Henry’s wandering eye meant Anne had a problem. She tried various ways to keep her husband but made enemies in the process. This eventually cost her everything when Henry accused her of incest, witchcraft, along other crimes and ordered her death. Henry executed Anne in 1536, that was not the end of her legacy. That baby girl she gave birth to went on to be one of the greatest rulers in British history, as Elizabeth I.
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:
Agnes Sorel and the History of Toplessness. Julia Wytrazek. Culture Trip. August 30, 2018.
Famous Royal Mistresses. The Telegraph. 2010.
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings : A Brief Account. Monticello.org.
Robert Dudley: Queen Elizabeth’s Great Love. Dr. Tracy Borman. History Extra. January 2016.
Grigory Potemkin and Catherine the Great Have One of History’s Greatest Love Stories.
Agnes Bernauer’s Inglorious Trial and Death. Harold Sack. SciHi Blog. 2017
Lola Montez. Irish Dancer. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica.