Irish socialite Mary ‘Patsy’ Cornwallis-West (1958 – 1920), circa 1880. Cornwallis-West became the mistress of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) at the age of 16

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Patsy Cornwallis-West was (at least) the thirteenth mistress of King Edward VII. She wouldn’t be the last. She might, however, have been the smartest. Aged just sixteen, when Edward, then Prince of Wales, took his virginity, Patsy was his concubine for much of her young life. life in sham marriages and leveraging their influence over the king to manipulate English social hierarchies. History has labeled her an “aristocratic tart”—sexually promiscuous and so willing to transform her hourglass figure and English rosy complexion for her own social advantage. Perhaps others might argue that she was a woman, born into the upper middle class and primed for hypergamy, who knew exactly what was needed to secure a future for her children (some of whom may have borne a suspicious resemblance to the king ). From violent dalliances to sordid endings, this Irish aristocrat is one of the most scandalous and maligned lovers in British history. Time to meet Patsy.

By all accounts, mistress-to-the-king was the role she was born to play. At least if her mother had anything to do with it. Lady Olivia Fitzpatrick, daughter of Thomas Taylour, 2nd Marquess of Headfort, had previously tried to win the heart (or bedpost) of Edward, Prince of Wales herself. Given the voraciousness of the future Edward VII’s sexual appetite, Olivia, 17 years his senior, may not even have been the reason he turned her down – more likely, it was the fact that the Queen VICTORIA he had previously exiled her from court for trying to seduce Edward’s father, Prince Albert.

Always trying, always failing, Olivia tried again. After welcoming a daughter with Reverend Frederick FitzPatrick, a descendant of the 1st Baron Upper Ossory, she played boudoir helicopter parent. Mary Adelaide Virginia Eupatoria Fitzpatrick was famous for her beauty: an hourglass figure and apple-like cheeks. Olivia saw her chance. Undaunted by his six-year marriage and the potential wrath of any of his twelve previous mistresses, Edward embarks on an affair with Patsy. Historians say she was as “sexually wicked” as her lover, encouraging him to take her virginity when she was 16. The prince was 29 years old.