| Alice Keppel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 April 1868 |
| Died | 11 September 1947 (aged 79) |
| Spouse | George Keppel (m. 1891) |
| Children | Violet Trefusis Sonia Cubitt, Baroness Ashcombe |
| Parents | Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet Mary Elizabeth Parsons |
Alice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone[1] (29 April 1868 – 11 September 1947) was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West. She is the matrilineal great-grandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales.
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Keppel was born Alice Frederica Edmonstone, to Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet, and Mary Elizabeth Edmonstone, née Parsons, at Woolwich Dockyard, the scion of a distinguished family. Her father was the 4th Baronet Edmonstone and a retired Admiral in the Royal Navy; her grandfather had been Governor of the Ionian Islands.
She had one brother and seven sisters, Alice being the youngest. Alice married George Keppel, son of the 7th Earl of Albemarle and four years her senior, on 1 June 1891.
Even early on, Alice Keppel had a reputation for adultery, and it was rumoured that her eldest daughter was not fathered by her husband George, but in fact was the daughter of the future Lord Grimthorpe, one of her lovers. Pretty, articulate, and discreet, Keppel quickly climbed the social ladder through affairs with prominent men of the day. Known as a very attractive woman, her extramarital affairs were usually initiated by her desire to improve her social status. Her success as a courtesan has tended to eclipse any accomplishments of her husband George. Most of her affairs were conducted with her husband's full knowledge.
In 1898, Keppel met the future Edward VII, then the 56-year old heir to the throne. It was not long before Keppel became one of Edward's many mistresses, despite a twenty-six year age difference. Keppel lived at Pleasure House, East Sutton, Kent. Edward visited her house on a regular basis, George conveniently leaving during the visits. Their relationship would last until Edward's death in 1910 and was well-known. "Alice Keppel was a fantastic help to Edward VII, more help than his wife Queen Alexandra could ever have been", wrote Christopher Wilson, who has done extensive writings on Keppel's great-granddaughter, Camilla Parker Bowles. Keppel was one of the few people in his circle who was able to defuse Edward VII's cantankerous mood swings.
Aristocratic and royal approval of Keppel was mixed. Edward's wife was kind enough to send Keppel a consoling letter when her husband was stricken by typhoid, and to permit her at Edward's side when the King was on his deathbed. The story that Queen Alexandra invited her to see the dying King[2] is possibly a myth that Alice herself propagated. She was asked to visit at the King's request and, in a fit of hysterics, she was reportedly ejected shrieking, "I never did any harm, there was nothing wrong between us. What is to become of me?"[3] Alexandra reportedly merely tolerated Keppel, though, and did not like her. This was not true of Alexandra's feelings toward one of the King's former mistresses, Jennie Jerome. Alexandra found her pleasant and appealing, and enjoyed her company. She was also said to be quite fond of Agnes Keyser, with whom Edward was involved until his death. However, the Queen resented Keppel who, while feigning discretion, would appear at functions where Alexandra was accompanying Edward VII.
High-ranking aristocrats such as the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Portland and the Marquess of Salisbury were decidedly cool towards the King's mistress.
Upon Edward's death, Keppel discreetly left for Ceylon for two years, although she later returned to England.
Upon hearing that Edward VIII was renouncing the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, Keppel remarked that "things were done much better in my day."
In his book, Edward VII's Last Loves: Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser, author Raymond Lamont-Brown emphasizes that the influence Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser had on politics and diplomacy inside the royal court should not be underrated.[4]
In March 1995, an image of Keppel and her infant daughter, Violet, was placed on one of the British postage stamp "Greetings in Arts" series.
Her second daughter Sonia married The Hon. Roland Cubitt, son of Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe. Roland became 3rd Baron after his father's death in 1947.
Keppel's daughter Violet Trefusis became an author and was infamous in her own right for her sexual escapades in a high-profile and volatile lesbian relationship with Vita Sackville-West.[5] Keppel strongly objected to this relationship, and it caused her great stress in her attempts to draw her daughter away from Sackville-West. This was due less to her objections to her daughter's sexual orientation, and more because she found the publicity distasteful. Violet later became the chosen lover of sewing machine heiress Winnaretta Singer. Keppel did not object to this affair, in part because of Singer's immense wealth and power, the welcome relief of Singer's discretion, and the seemingly healthy, loving relationship between the two.
Keppel's great-granddaughter, Camilla Parker Bowles, (later Duchess of Cornwall) became the mistress and, later, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales.[6]