12. Lillie Langtry shocked London society as a young lady, and then took a much-younger man to be her partner in later life
As a young woman, Lillie Langtry was the toast of London. She was the ultimate socialite, famed for her great beauty and lively personality. It was said that Langtry’s affair with Prince Louis of Battenberg led to her social downfall. Up until then, she had been feted by high society, including aristocracy and royalty. However, when she not only slept with the Prince of Wales’ cousin but also had his baby, the English elite turned their back on her. Undeterred, Langtry took Oscar Wilde’s advice and tried her luck on the stage. She was an overnight sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.
After she divorced her husband in 1897, Langtry had a number of millionaire lovers. Then she met the 28-year-old Hugo Gerald de Bathe. Even though she was 47-years-old, the pair married in a low-key ceremony. They moved to Monte Carlo where they lived happy, but separate lives, only occasionally seeing one other. Langtry died in 1929 at the age of 75. In death, as in life, she remained the subject of much media interest and speculation, not least relating to her colorful and controversial love life.