Emma Hamilton

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Emma, ​​Lady Hamilton in one of the most famous portraits by George Romney , ca.1785

Emma, ​​Lady Hamilton (born April 26, 1765 (?) In Ness , ( Cheshire ) as Amy Lyon , baptized May 12, 1765 in Great Neston (Cheshire), † January 15,  1815 in Calais ) was a celebrated beauty, artist and Society lady around 1800. She came from the simplest of circumstances. The beautiful Emma succeeded in social advancement into the most distinguished circles. Among other things, she was the mistress and wife of the British Ambassador in Naples since September 6, 1791, and the mistress of the British Admiral Horatio Nelson between 1798 and 1805 in what was then an unheard-of and widely scandalized love triangle. Because of her beauty and love affairs, she was a European celebrity at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. With the attitudes - depictions of ancient statues and paintings as living images - she was also known as an artist and often portrayed and imitated during her lifetime. After Nelson's death she fell into poverty, fled the London debt prison to France in 1814 and died seriously ill in Calais at the beginning of the following year.

Her life has been the subject of many novels, portraits and films up to the present day.

Life

Parentage, youth and first lovers

Emma Hamilton was born Amy Lyon in the small town of Ness near Great Neston (now known as Neston), Cheshire , north-west England . The year of her birth is usually assumed to be 1765. An anonymous contemporary author gives it as 1761, but this source is generally considered to be unreliable. She said her birthday was April 26th. The baptismal name Amy was changed several times (Amyly, Emly, Emyly, Emily) and finally the name Emma was retained. After the death of her father, the farrier Henry Lyon, just a month after the baptism, little Emma was brought to her home village of Hawarden in Flintshire by her ambitious and strong-willed mother, Mary Lyon (née Kidd), a maid . There they lived in the house of Mary's mother, Sarah Kidd, and Mary worked as a coal peddler.

Around 1777 the young Emma became a nanny in the house of the doctor Honoratus Leigh Thomas in Hawarden. About a year later she went to London with her mother. Her early stations there are only documented by sparse and often dubious sources, so that many of her activities in her first years in London are unclear. She first worked in 1778 as a nanny for surgeon Richard Budd at 14 Chatham Place near Blackfriars Bridge . In his household she met a maid of about the same age named Jane, who wanted to become an actress and would later marry the actor William Powell. Emma is likely to have gained her first experience in acting. However, the two girls also enjoyed the excessive nightlife of London and neglected their work, so that they were soon fired by Mrs. Budd. Then Emma became the housemaid of music and theater director Thomas Linley , who had bought the Drury Lane Theater with his son-in-law Richard Brinsley Sheridan . It was then that she received her first music lessons and probably also deepened her acting talent. The Linley family was deeply shaken after the death of two children. Emma left and allegedly became a London nightlife prostitute, but the sources are unreliable. She is said to have worked for a half-world lady named "Madame Kelly" and there met the young naval officer John Willet Payne, whose mistress she became briefly. It was only during this relationship that she lost her "innocence". One version gives as the reason for her consent to the affair that she supported a relative who was supposed to become a sailor against his will. Payne should work with the Admiralty for his release from involuntary ship service and in return get Emma as his lover.

Emma is said to have posed , only covered with a light veil, in the "Temple of Health" of the Scottish quack James Graham , which was passed off as a medical facility . In this “temple”, located near the Thames between the Royal Terrace and the Adelphi Theater, wealthy sterile couples could lie down in a “heavenly bed” for reasonable payment, the use of which was intended to restore fertility.

It was then that Emma met the famous English portrait painter George Romney , who had a penchant for ancient subjects and over the years created more than 40 portraits of her. Although his first known portrait of her is from 1782, he is likely to have painted her earlier. However, the relationship between the painter and his model remained platonic.

In the United Kingdom at the time, rich nobles often had a casual relationship with a young maid or actress. Only rarely did these relatively destitute women, because of their attractiveness and their intellectual abilities, manage to transform such a relationship into marriage and rise to the upper class.

Emma was a tall, slender beauty with long auburn hair. In 1781 she made the acquaintance of the rich young dandy Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh , who invited her to his father's magnificent country house Up Park in Sussex . Because Sir Harry's mother often turned up there, his new mistress lived mostly in Rosemary Cottage, only a few miles away. Emma led a carefree and unrestrained life for a while, became a good rider and is said to have danced naked on the dining table from time to time. She also took part in Sir Harry's exuberant dinner parties and met her future lover, the 32-year-old noble Charles Francis Greville , in September 1781 . But Fetherstonhaugh grew tired of her and finally abandoned her in December 1781 when he learned that she was pregnant, although this child - later known as "Little Emma" - most likely came from him. She hardly received enough money from him to travel home to Hawarden. Her old grandmother received her kindly, but was very poor. Emma found herself in great financial trouble. She received no reply to her letters from her former lover, Fetherstonhaugh. Desperate, she turned to Greville for help, and in that correspondence she called herself Emily Hart . Her letters show that she made a lot of spelling mistakes and was almost illiterate.

Lover of Charles Greville

Emma, ​​Lady Hamilton,
portrait by George Romney

Greville agreed to accept her in his London apartment and to finance her livelihood on the condition that Emma completely cut off all her previous contacts except with her mother, especially with Fetherstonhaugh. He did not want her former, sometimes obnoxious, life to be known and damaged his reputation. Therefore, she continued to call herself Hart and lived as Greville's mistress from February 1782 in his modest house on Edgware Row in the London suburb of Paddington Green . Her mother also lived there as a housekeeper and cook. Like her daughter, Mary Lyon changed her family name to Mrs. Cadogan after a former employer, presumably because she too wanted to cover up all traces of her past life. Greville had an annual income of 500 pounds sterling, which is low for his noble origins. Accordingly, Emma had to operate economically, lead a secluded life and get by on a personal budget of £ 20 per year, which she accepted without hesitation. The Lord taught her fine manners, tried to improve her spelling, funded her singing lessons, and aroused her interest in literature, art, and ancient coins. He also looked after her daughter Little Emma , who was born on March 12, 1782 and was immediately brought to her grandparents in Hawarden. From now on Romney also regularly portrayed Greville's young lover in repeated sessions in various but never lewd poses. The painter apparently sincerely admired his model.

Greville's love for Emma soon grew cold, and he hoped to find a wealthy heir to spouse his dreary economic situation. To do this, however, he first had to end the liaison with his mistress. In August 1783 his wealthy maternal uncle, Sir William Hamilton , British ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples since 1764 , came to visit and was immediately drawn to Emma's beauty, but initially did not want to gain any further favor from her. While Greville and his uncle went to his estates in Scotland , Emma and her mother traveled to Hawarden in June 1784 to pick up their little daughter and then to postpone a two-month spa stay. After that, Little Emma had to separate from her mother and from December 1784 lived in a boarding school. Greville now urged his childless widowed uncle in many letters to appoint him as a universal heir and to bring Emma to Naples as his mistress . That would have meant nothing to prevent Greville from marrying a wealthy lady, but at the same time he would have looked after Emma safely. That Sir William would marry her seemed impossible because of his position as ambassador. The diplomat made his nephew his heir, but with a gentleman's consideration for Emma's sincere love for Greville, he was reluctant to lead her away from London. But in the end he gave in to his nephew's persistent pleas.

Life in Naples with Hamilton

Greville revealed to his lover that he would have to travel to Scotland for a long time for business reasons and that she and her mother should move to Naples for further vocal training at Hamilton's invitation. Their separation would last a maximum of six months. He withheld the real reason for her trip from her, although the estrangement from her lover could not have escaped her. She reluctantly agreed to Greville's suggestion. Emma and her mother left London on March 13, 1786 and were accompanied by the painter Gavin Hamilton (who was not related to Greville's uncle). They traveled via Geneva and Turin to Rome , where the painter said goodbye, since the Italian metropolis was his adopted home. Arrived in Naples on April 26, 1786, Emma and her mother were received and billeted in the Palazzo Sessa , the grand residence of the British ambassador.

At first the young British woman felt a great longing for Greville, but Sir William Hamilton played a charming and reserved host, distracted her and introduced her to the better circles of Naples. She liked life in the city very much. She quickly learned Italian and French , trained her naturally beautiful voice through professional music training and thus became an excellent singer. Sir William shared with her his love for antiques and objets d'art that he shared with his nephew, and she was also very interested in his exploration of volcanoes , particularly Mount Vesuvius . But when she realized that she should stay permanently in Naples and felt the great affection of the diplomat, she wrote numerous letters to Greville, in which she declared that she would continue to love only him and no longer want to show friendly feelings for Sir William. After a long silence, Greville replied coolly and ordered her to submit to his uncle's wishes. On August 1, 1786, the impulsive Emma wrote furiously that if her former lover were around she would kill him and herself; in addition, she ruled out becoming a mistress of Sir Williams, rather she would rather persuade him to marry in an emergency. When she finally saw the futility of her efforts to resume her relationship with Greville, she accepted (around November 1786) the role she was assigned and entered into a relationship with the 35-year-old diplomat.

Lady Hamilton as a bacchante , painting by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun , 1790–1791

Now Emma began to portray ancient statues and paintings as living pictures , with which she presented herself to numerous illustrious guests of her lover. This plastic-mimic presentation of various mental states and characters, which was elevated to an art form due to her talent, was achieved by alternating her facial expressions as well as her gestures and body positions using the smallest of props, such as a scarf. So once she portrayed a boisterous bacchante and the next moment a penitent Magdalena. Emma achieved through her much admired appearances, which she described as attitudes , as a beauty and as an artist, but also as a singer, an almost Europe-wide fame, which the art historian Ulrike Ittershagen with of Marilyn Monroe in the 20th century compares. In March 1787 the 37-year-old Goethe came to Naples on his trip to Italy and was also impressed by Emma's beauty and attitude performances. Like Romney first, they portrayed many other famous painters who were enchanted by their dazzling appearance, such as Angelika Kauffmann , Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein , Joshua Reynolds , Thomas Lawrence , John Hoppner and Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun .

While the Neapolitan Queen Maria Karolina , a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa , initially disapproved of Emma because she only regarded her as the mistress of the British ambassador, King Ferdinand IV immediately took a liking to Emma's beauty. Elizabeth, Duchess of Argyll , an aging beauty, came to Naples on cure in 1789 and became close friends with Emma. The latter opened up access to the previously denied circle of British aristocracy residing in southern Italy, which, like Maria Karolina, had only seen her as a courtesan who had risen from nowhere thanks to the favor of the old diplomat. Emma was now also allowed to meet regularly with the most important members of the court, in particular with the Minister John Acton , one of the most senior confidante of the Neapolitan queen.

In 1790 Sir William Hamilton decided to legalize his relationship with Emma. Greville was shocked to learn that his uncle intended to marry his former mistress. However, the ambassador feared that this connection could harm his career. So he wanted to go to London first and get the approval of the British king. In May 1791, Emma and Sir William arrived in London and prepared for their wedding. This news soon became a main topic of conversation in the metropolis. Emma met numerous friends and relatives of her groom and had to attend many social events. She saw her old friend Romney again, who blossomed and again in a few sessions created paintings of her. Sir William and his future wife also met the writer, artist and politician Horace Walpole , who was impressed by Emma's singing skills. Of course, there was also no lack of critical or derisive voices. In August, Mrs. Cadogan, Emma's mother, visited her nine-year-old granddaughter Little Emma , now called Emma Carew , who had only seen her mother for a few weeks in 1784. Queen Charlotte strictly refused that Sir William Hamilton's mistress was received at court, but King George III. gave the diplomat his secret consent to the marriage. On September 6, 1791, the wedding ceremony took place in Marylebone Church, where the now Lady Hamilton entered the register as Amy Lyon - a scandal for the British aristocracy.

On the return journey to Naples, Sir William and Lady Hamilton came to Paris , shaken by the French Revolution , where they had a personal conversation with Marie Antoinette , without any further details being known. The French queen, who was under house arrest, gave them a confidential letter to her sister Maria Karolina. That is why Emma was received by the Queen of Naples and her close confidante and friend in the period that followed. Maria Karolina then played the leading role at the royal court. In the wake of the French Revolution, there were armed conflicts between France and other major European powers. The Neapolitan queen was at the latest since the execution of her sister Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI. (1793) to the irreconcilable opponent of France, saw her own empire threatened and hoped for military protection from the British fleet. Because of her friendship with Maria Karolina, Lady Hamilton also incurred the wrath of the party sympathizing with the French. Slanderous tongues claimed that the two women had a lesbian relationship.

At court Emma was (mistakenly) addressed as Miladi . Due to her now outstanding position in Naples, even distinguished British visitors considered it an honor to be received by her. After the Countess of Malmesbury was a guest, she wrote to her sister Lady Elliot on January 11, 1792 that she had never seen anything more impressive than Lady Hamilton's attitudes. Almost five years later, however, Sir Gilbert Elliot said in a letter to his wife (dated November 6, 1796) that Emma had already lost her flawless figure; her face is beautiful, she has acquired a great deal of knowledge in history and art and continues to show an extraordinary talent for her attitudes, but her behavior corresponds more to that of a barmaid than a noble woman. Commissioned by William Hamilton, the German painter Rehberg created portraits of a selection of her attitudes, which were published in 1794 as Drawings faithfully copied from Nature at Naples, and with permission dedicated to the Right Honorable Sir William Hamilton .

In December 1792 Emma asked her former lover Greville to advance her 20 pounds to send it to her grandmother in Hawarden because she had, as always, spent her personal budget, which her husband donated annually, and Sir William was seriously ill at the time, so that he had couldn't make the payment. In the years that followed, the British diplomat's health continued to deteriorate, and Emma then looked after him like a nurse.

Political role as confidante of Maria Karolina

In August 1793, the united Spaniards and British, under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet , Admiral Samuel Hood , were able to take the important southern French naval base of Toulon , as it was extradited by French royalists. To get military support from the Kingdom of Naples to assert Toulon, Hood sent the 35-year-old captain, later admiral and naval hero Horatio Nelson , who landed on the ship " Agamemnon " on September 11, 1793 in the port of Naples. His diplomatic mission was a complete success. It was on this occasion that Nelson briefly met Lady Hamilton. The unhappily married later sea hero became friends with the British ambassador and was probably charmed by his wife, but could hardly spend time with her. In a letter to his wife Fanny, Nelson characterized Lady Hamilton as a lovable woman who does all credit to the rank to which she was raised. After his early departure, Nelson had no contact with Emma for the next five years. Toulon, on the other hand, was recaptured by the French revolutionary army in December 1793 through the strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was at the beginning of his career .

Through her acquaintance with Maria Karolina, Emma now also played a political role. Because of her husband's frequent illnesses, she increasingly represented him in his diplomatic duties. She also acted as a mediator between the Neapolitan royal court, whose political survival depended on the support of Great Britain, and the British embassy. Maria Karolina felt surrounded by spies. However, since the correspondence between the Queen and Lady Hamilton aroused no suspicion due to the friendship of the two ladies, Maria Karolina often addressed confidential letters to her confidante, which were actually addressed to their husband in his function as British ambassador. Opinions differ, however, as to the extent of Emma's part in these diplomatic relations between Naples and Britain.

At the beginning of 1795 Maria Karolina succeeded in deciphering a confidential letter sent to her husband Ferdinand. Ferdinand had received this document from his brother, King Charles IV of Spain , who stated that he intended to reorient himself politically and to make peace with France. On April 29, 1795, the Neapolitan Queen handed the letter of interest to the British Government for a day to Lady Hamilton, who translated it and sent this copy to the British Foreign Minister, Lord Grenville . In her later conflict with the British government, Lady Hamilton claimed that it cost her £ 400 to send this copy. In September 1796, Maria Karolina received another letter stating that Spain had signed a pact of aggression and defense with France. Lady Hamilton translated the letter again and sent it to Great Britain, which then intercepted Spanish ships without a declaration of war. Nelson later confirmed in the last codicil of his will that Emma had received and forwarded this letter from the Spanish king, which betrayed war intentions against Great Britain.

Napoleon's Armada set out from Toulon on May 20, 1798 for the Egyptian campaign . Nelson pursued the French fleet, but did not know their destination and was far behind. On June 17, 1798, he anchored near Naples to ask Minister Acton for permission to receive provisions and water in the Sicilian ports. This would have undermined the treaty signed by France with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1796, according to which a maximum of two British ships were allowed to call at the ports of Sicily. Nelson's confidante, Captain Thomas Troubridge , and the Hamilton couple sought, in a hastily convened conference, to make Acton inclined to the British wishes, but with regard to France he was only prepared to issue a vague, unofficial order on behalf of the King to supply the British Fleet sign. Emma then informed her friend Maria Karolina, who immediately wrote a letter she personally signed, calling on all governors of Sicilian ports to unhindered supply to Nelson's ships. After an unsuccessful attempt to track down the French fleet in Alexandria , Nelson's ships returned, but were turned away in Palermo in mid-July 1798 . In response to a letter of protest from the admiral, Maria Karolina, under Emma's influence, sent new letters to the Sicilian governors so that Nelson could finally stock up in Syracuse . The British naval hero later confirmed Lady Hamilton's assertion in his will that he had received the necessary supplies in Syracuse only because of her service with the Neapolitan queen and therefore could immediately continue the pursuit of the French fleet; otherwise he would have had to return to Gibraltar and lose valuable time. This is how she made his victory possible in the sea ​​battle at Abukir (August 1, 1798).

Acquaintance with Nelson

A good month after Nelson's destruction of the French fleet at Abukir (near Alexandria), the news of this victory reached Naples and Emma congratulated the naval hero in delighted letters. On September 22nd, 1798, he arrived at Naples and was greeted with jubilation by numerous people sailing towards him on many boats. The Hamiltons and the King of Naples were among the well-wishers. When Emma stepped on board Nelson's flagship Vanguard , she shouted, “Oh God, is that possible!” And, on the verge of fainting, fell into the Admiral's arms. In the days that followed, she cared for him self-sacrificingly when he was seriously ill due to a head wound received in battle, and also cured his nervous exhaustion. She wrote pleasant letters to his wife Frances Herbert Nelson (called Fanny) about his health. Many lavish celebrations were held in his honor and Queen Maria Karolina showered him with compliments. At that time the love affair between Emma and Nelson developed, which soon gave rise to too much gossip and was apparently tolerated by the already old and sick Sir William Hamilton. Emma's husband and Nelson had great respect for one another. A love triangle began for years .

On September 29, 1798, Emma gave a grand celebration on the occasion of Nelson's birthday. According to a letter from the admiral to his wife, 80 people were invited to the dinner and no fewer than 1,740 guests attended the ball. However, an embarrassing incident occurred when Nelson's 18-year-old stepson publicly committed adultery with Lady Hamilton to his foster father accused.

In a victorious mood, the Neapolitans launched an offensive against the French on Maria Carolina's initiative, which led to the capture of Rome. But the Neapolitan troops were quickly repulsed by the French general Jean-Étienne Championnet , who then moved with his army into Maria Carolina's kingdom of Naples.

Escape to Palermo and return

The royal couple decided to flee to Palermo on Nelson's ships when a revolt of anti-royalist subjects threatened and the French troops were getting closer and closer to Naples. Maria Karolina had the royal treasure brought to Lady Hamilton, who had it loaded onto the ships in barrels and boxes with the harmless inscription Goods to Nelson . The money, the most valuable paintings and the antique vases of Sir Hamilton were to be transported to Great Britain on board the Colossus , which got caught in a storm and sank. Since a secret escape was planned, the royal family made their way from the palace through underground passages to the port on the night of December 21, 1798. At the same time, the Hamiltons had apparently attended a ball in the Turkish embassy, ​​left it furtively and met the royal family on the beach. These, a part of their court and the diplomatic couple were rowed in boats to Nelson's four ships, where a total of around 2000 refugees, including many British, were. The crossing to Sicily was made extremely difficult by the worst storm that the sea hero had ever experienced. Many ship travelers were seasick and anxious. In this situation Emma kept her composure and acted extremely brave. This bravery earned Nelson great respect. All night she cared for the youngest son of the royal couple, Alberto Maria, who was suffering from convulsions, as best she could; yet the child died in her arms. Despite the tragedy, she tried to comfort the royal family as much as possible. Sir William had his pistols within easy reach because he would rather shoot himself than drown in the event of a shipwreck. The fleet finally arrived in Palermo on the night of December 26th, 1798, where it was unusually cold. Nevertheless, the Hamiltons as well as Maria Karolina and her family had to live and freeze in cold, unheated houses.

In January 1799 Championnet entered Naples victoriously. The Parthenopean Republic was proclaimed and the French received support from numerous anti-monarchist subjects of Maria Carolina, who threatened these defectors with retribution. On the cold winter nights, Lady Hamilton and Nelson played cards and other games of chance and risked the loss of large sums of money, so that the naval hero was reprimanded by his officers.

The Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo quickly recaptured the lost continental territory for the Neapolitan royal family from February 1799. The majority of the French withdrew in May and in June only a few French troops and republican-minded southern Italians offered resistance in some of the castles in Naples. It was only after a change of opinion that Nelson agreed to a treaty negotiated by Ruffo that granted these last entrenched supporters of the Parthenopean Republic free retreat. These were arrested by Nelson on June 28th, in breach of his promise, after they had evacuated their places of refuge. The Neapolitan admiral Francesco Caracciolo , who defected to the revolutionaries, was hanged on board Nelson's ship Minerva on the night of June 29th .

While Maria Karolina had to stay behind in Palermo on the orders of her husband, Ferdinand IV returned to Naples on July 10, 1799 and caused a bloody criminal judgment to be passed on the defeated opponents of the monarchy. From Palermo, the queen tried to tighten the penalties even more. Lady Hamilton stayed on board of Nelson's flagship Foudroyant as the deputy of the exiled queen , had to constantly report to Maria Karolina about the events in Naples and also deal with her other requests. At times she was also used as Nelson's interpreter. According to a letter from the admiral to her mother, Emma was exhausted from dealing with numerous petitions from rebels and Jacobins. Her political role, increased by her relationship with Nelson and friendship with the royal couple, attracted a lot of resentment. She was accused of relentlessly supporting the cruel king's wave of executions and ignoring appeals for clemency from imprisoned Republicans - some of whom were once her friends. She is also said to have shown satisfaction in the execution of Caracciolos and to have taken a close look at his hanged body. Her correspondence with Maria Karolina, however, seems to show that, as far as she could, she advocated mildness towards the prisoners.

When the Hamiltons found their former residence, the Palazzo Sessa, destroyed in early August 1799, they returned to Palermo with Nelson and the king. There the admiral and the diplomatic couple were celebrated with luxurious splendor and given expensive gifts by the royal couple. During Lord Keith's return to Great Britain (October 1799), which lasted several weeks , Nelson temporarily became Commander-in-Chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet. Therefore he had to continue the blockade of the French occupied Malta and take on many other tasks. So he was rarely in Palermo. During his absence, he appointed Lady Hamilton to be his deputy. In this capacity she received a delegation from Maltese who complained of hunger on the island due to the British blockade that had lasted for years. She later (1811) claimed that she had bought several shiploads of wheat valued at £ 5,000 out of her own pocket for the starving islanders. Her version is implausible because she didn't have that much money. After all, she must have campaigned for the Maltese to be allowed to get provisions. Because of these services, Nelson Paul I, as Grand Master of the Order of Malta, asked for the Cross of the Order for Lady Hamilton, which she also received from the Tsar in December 1799.

Return to London through Central Europe

In January 1800 Sir William Hamilton learned that he should be recalled from his ambassadorial post for reasons of age. Maria Karolina expressed her disappointment about this in a letter to Emma. Nelson ignored orders from Lord Keith, who had returned as Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, in order to be able to stay close to Emma. His disobedience was a thorn in the side of his superiors and they also blamed Lady Hamilton for her love affair with him. From the end of April, Nelson made a month-long cruise with the Hamilton couple on board the Foudroyant near the still French-occupied Malta. Emma spent the nights with the sea hero and became pregnant by him, while her husband present on board apparently endured this relationship with philosophical calm. The first lord of the Admiralty, George Spencer , finally ordered Nelson back to Great Britain to heal his wounds and regain his old strength.

The Neapolitan monarch, feeling increasingly excluded from government affairs, decided to take a trip to Vienna to see her imperial relatives. Around June 10, 1800, she left Palermo with her three unmarried daughters, her younger son and a few servants, and set out with the Hamilton, Emma's mother and Nelsons. The admiral first took the group to Livorno on his ships . From there they traveled in carriages under some adverse circumstances and sometimes in dangerous proximity to French troops via Florence to Ancona . Then they boarded a Russian frigate and sailed for Trieste . After another 500 km, they reached Vienna on August 18, 1800. Maria Karolina and her entourage went to Schönbrunn Palace , while the other travelers stayed in an inn on the Graben.

Nelson was also cheered in Vienna and even received a private audience with Emperor Franz II. On September 6, 1800, he and the Hamiltons visited Prince Esterházy's palace in Eisenstadt . A concert conducted by Joseph Haydn was held in his honor . But he didn't hear the end, but hurried to the gaming table with Emma. Nevertheless, Lady Hamilton may have kept the famous composer company for some time. For example, she sang the cantata Ariadne auf Naxos to accompany his piano . She was described by some observers at the time as arrogant and Nelson dominant. It was also found that she had grown fat; this is partly explainable by her advanced pregnancy. On September 23, she said goodbye to her friend Maria Karolina, who was very sad about it. This should be the last meeting of the two women.

Nelson and the Hamiltons traveled on to Dresden via Prague . There they were guests of the British Ambassador Hugh Elliot. The Irish girl Melesina Saint George-Trench, who was also present at the time, hardly leaves a good eye for Emma in her travel log. She was vain, greedy and cheeky, and drank too much champagne. It was only her attitudes that Mrs. Saint George-Trench admired without reservation. Nelson made inappropriate comments when Lady Hamilton received an invitation to the Elector of Saxony, Friedrich August III. was knocked off. Elliot wanted to get rid of his unpleasant and embarrassing guests as quickly as possible and led them to Hamburg under a pretext , where Emma met the famous, then 76-year-old poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock . After some waiting, the British were finally able to cross over to Great Yarmouth in the British Isles, where they arrived in early November 1800 and traveled on to London.

Love triangle in England

On November 9, 1800, at Nerot's Hotel in the British capital, a tense meeting took place between the couple Hamilton, Nelson and his wife Fanny; Nelson's old father Edmund, a pastor, was also present. Emma and Fanny, the rivals for the Admiral's favor, saw each other a few more times, for example on November 25th at the Drury Lane Theater. On this occasion Fanny fainted, supposedly because she could no longer bear her husband's attentions for Emma. For Christmas, Nelson accompanied the Hamiltons without his wife, who accepted an invitation from the wealthy writer William Beckford to his Fonthill country house in Wiltshire . There Emma met the famous singer Georgina Brigida Banti , whom she had already met in Naples. The two women sang enchantingly in a duet. Emma also reiterated her attitudes. After returning to London at the end of December, the Hamiltons lived in a rented little town house at 23 Piccadilly , while Nelson moved in with his wife for decency. But Fanny ended the relationship on January 12, 1801, because her husband did not want to do without his lover. Nelson was now living with the Hamiltons. All three were therefore treated ungraciously by high society and the royal family. Gazettes published satirical caricatures of Nelson the seducer, Hamilton the old cuckold and Emma the fat nymphomaniac.

Since the British government did not compensate Sir William Hamilton for his faithful service and his losses due to the sinking of the Colossus with large parts of his fortune, he had to sell many pieces of his antique collection and several valuable paintings, including those by Emma. In late January 1801, Lady Hamilton gave birth to a daughter whom she had fathered with Nelson. Or maybe they were twins, one of whom was stillborn. In order not to arouse suspicion, she gave the surviving newborn to a wet nurse named Mrs. Gibson in Marylebone, London . At that time the admiral had to do duty on the Baltic Sea , learned of the birth of his child through correspondence with his lover and wished that it would be named Horatia. To disguise his relationship, he referred to Emma in his love letters as Mrs. Thompson (so-called Thompson letters , which clearly prove his fatherhood for Horatia). When he learned that the Prince of Wales was going to visit the Hamiltons in February 1801, he became very jealous because he believed that this noblewoman was trying to seduce Emma. The prince had met her shortly before her marriage in August 1791 and was very impressed by her. At Nelson's insistence, however, his lover eluded another meeting. During a short vacation at the end of February 1801, Nelson visited his daughter at the nurse's house and later alone or together with Lady Hamilton several times. Back at sea, Nelson wrote his lover an unencrypted love letter on March 1, 1801.

Nelson's victory in the sea ​​battle of Copenhagen (April 2, 1801) was celebrated by the Hamiltons with selected guests, including Emma's ex-lover, Charles Greville. Lady Hamilton sang a song to the glory of the victorious admiral and danced a tarantella . After returning in early July, the sea hero pushed a short relaxing vacation with the Hamiltons in Surrey . Napoleon's plans to invade Great Britain soon forced him to resume naval service, but his attempt to destroy the French fleet at Boulogne-sur-Mer failed (August 1801).

On Nelson's behalf, however, Emma looked for a country estate for him and decided on the homestead Merton Place , which was eight miles from London in Surrey and which exceeded Nelson's finances at £ 9,000, so that he had to pay it in installments. Lady Hamilton also took care of the interior and complied with all of the admiral's wishes. He came to his new country home in October 1801 and was very satisfied with it. Emma made sure that his health was improved again. Her husband, Sir William Hamilton, also lived in Merton. In November family members of the admiral came to visit: first his father Edmund Nelson, then his brother William Nelson and his sister Susanna Bolton and their families. The sea hero enjoyed the family reunion and Emma was treated kindly by his relatives. Lady Hamilton, however, was very lavish with her two husbands' money, despite their poor financial situation, and had a water closet (which had only recently been invented) and an expensive kitchen stove installed in Merton. Sir William was annoyed with her large expenses, but let her go. The couple also kept the house on Piccadilly. After visiting Merton in March 1802, Lord Minto wrote to his wife that there were coats of arms and countless pictures of Nelson, his lover and his sea victories, what Minto believed was an extreme form of self-adulation.

The Peace of Amiens (March 25, 1802) allowed Nelson to live in Merton for a good year without any service obligations. Even when he learned of his father's alarming state of health, he stayed at his country estate because he was seriously ill himself. Edmund Nelson died on Emma's birthday at the age of 80 (April 26, 1802) without his son being present or at least attending his funeral. Emma was accused of having stopped the sea hero because his father got along so well with his wife Fanny. It is more likely that Nelson actually suffered from a serious illness. In July 1802 Sir William Hamilton inspected his Welsh estate at Milford Haven. His wife and the recovered admiral and his brother William Nelson accompanied him. On the way, the sea hero was cheered a lot and Emma often sang patriotic songs, to which she added words of praise to her loved ones. But George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough , did not want to see Lady Hamilton, much to her annoyance. In Milford Haven she also met Charles Greville again, who was acting as his uncle's estate manager.

After returning to Merton, Emma suffered from eczema and in September 1802 went to Margate for a sea bath cure . Her husband reluctantly went with her, but was so bored that Emma finally went home with him because of his anger. The tensions between the spouses increased in the last months of Sir Williams' life. In a letter to his wife written around November 1802, he remained politely diplomatic, but threatened her with separation if his demands were not met. He complained that she was giving Nelson more and more attention, but at the same time emphasized his continued friendship with the admiral. In particular, he no longer wanted to have his rhythm of life imposed and to spend more time fishing or visiting museums in London. Apparently his wishes were taken into account. Since 1798 he had accepted his wife's relationship with Nelson and publicly played the unsuspecting, but this discipline seems to have been difficult for him at the end of his life. Emma continued to lead an expensive life and in the winter of 1802 invited numerous guests to Merton, including Maria Karolina's son Leopold.

The next year, Hamilton's death was near. After he lost consciousness, he was taken to his home on Piccadilly. There he died despite medical treatment on April 6, 1803, with Emma and Nelson holding his hands.

Long distance relationship with Nelson after Hamilton's death

In his will, Hamilton bequeathed his wife only an annual pension of £ 800, while Charles Greville became his sole heir. On his orders, Lady Hamilton had to vacate the Piccadilly house immediately. At that time her debts - which she had concealed from her husband - were already up to £ 7,000. Nelson had not complied with Emma's wish to retire from the sea and become a politician. So in May 1803 he went back to war against Napoleon as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, but because of her precarious financial situation he ordered his lover a monthly payment of 100 pounds and allowed her to freely move into the Merton homestead.

During Nelson's more than two years absence at sea, Lady Hamilton could only keep in touch with him by correspondence. At his request, she had Merton renovated, where the couple intended to spend later life. She devoted a lot of time to Nelson's little niece Charlotte and raised Horatia. But their debts weighed on them. In vain did she ask Maria Karolina, who had returned to Naples, for financial support. Nor did she have any success with her request to Prime Minister Henry Addington for a pension, which she justified with her diplomatic services rendered in Naples. At the end of 1803 or beginning of 1804, Lady Hamilton was likely to have given birth to another daughter of the admiral, who was to be named after her mother Emma at the request of the father, who was informed by letter, but who died in infancy.

Nelson returned to Great Britain for a few weeks in mid-August 1805, lived with his lover at his Merton country estate in Queenborough and enjoyed being with her. But he was often a guest at the Admiralty to discuss further measures against the French fleet, which was united with the Spanish Armada and which was anchored near Cadiz . On September 13, 1805, he had to go back to his fleet. Emma's attitude towards Nelson's so quick departure is controversial. Allegedly she did not hold him back, but encouraged him to do his duty, so that he said with admiration that if there were more brave women like her, England would have more Nelsons too. It does not seem likely that the woman in love wanted to see her hero return to the war so quickly after the long wait. Before Nelson's departure, the couple attended Merton Church, received Holy Communion, and exchanged rings to marry in the eyes of God.

On October 21, 1805, the British won the battle of Trafalgar superiorly against the Spanish-French fleet, but Nelson was fatally hit by a bullet during the fight. On November 6th, Lady Hamilton learned of her lover's demise from an Admiralty representative and was in shock. Neither she nor Nelson's wife Fanny were invited to the state funeral of the sea hero in Saint Paul's Cathedral (January 9, 1806).

Death in poverty

In his will, Nelson bequeathed to his lover the Merton estate, £ 2,000 in cash and an annual pension of £ 500 from the income of the Duchy of Bronte on loan to him . The admiral had earmarked £ 4,000 for his daughter Horatia; Emma was to receive the interest on this sum up to Horatias' 18th birthday and use it for her education. In an appendix to his will, written shortly before the beginning of the Battle of Trafalgar, he referred to the diplomatic merits of his mistresses for their fatherland during their stay in Naples and therefore asked the British government to pay for Emma's upkeep. The government should also take care of Horatia, whose adoptive father he was and who was to be called Horatia Nelson in the future . But the national hero's demand for state support for Lady Hamilton went unheeded.

In the last decade of her life, Lady Hamilton became poorer and sicker, the latter as a result of longstanding excessive alcohol consumption. The annual pensions she received from her husband and Nelson were often not paid on time and were insufficient to pay off her large debts. In addition, despite her financial arrears, she was not living frugally, and keeping Merton was expensive. A Nelson biography commissioned by her, which the bookseller James Harrison presented in two volumes in 1806, was a failure. For some time she could still hope that the government would grant her a pension, as Nelson's will. But when it became clear that this was not the case, she had to look to sell Merton to pay her debts, but Merton did not find a buyer so quickly. On November 25, 1808, she met her friends to find a way out of her desperate situation. It was decided that all of their property (including Merton), valued at an estimated £ 17,000, should be given to trustees and sold to satisfy the claims of their creditors. For this she was advanced 4500 pounds, in order to settle her most urgent debts immediately and to cover her daily needs. In 1809 a son of the wealthy Jewish banker Abraham Goldsmith, who was friends with Emma, ​​bought the property in Merton. In the same year, Lady Hamilton's former lover, Charles Greville, died without considering her in her will.

The sale of Merton and the help of her friends gave Emma only a short respite. As early as 1810, she was being chased from one residence to the next by her creditors. The death of her mother (January 14, 1810), who had always faithfully supported her in all situations, was a great loss for her. At the end of 1810 the old Duke of Queensberry passed away, in whom Lady Hamilton had found an admirer and friend while Nelson was still alive. He bequeathed her an annual pension of £ 500, but his will went through a long process and she did not get the sums that were intended for her.

Because of her high debts, Lady Hamilton was eventually sued and sentenced to imprisonment in King's Bench Prison in Southwark , but was allowed to live with Horatia under house arrest in a nearby barrack for a small rent. Her petitions to the Prince of Wales were in vain, pointing to Nelson's last will and her own diplomatic services for her fatherland in Naples. After a friend had made her bail, she was released in March 1813, but was interned again in the same prison in July 1813. With the help of her wealthy patron Alderman Joshua Smith, she managed in June 1814 that Nelson's brother William transferred her £ 225 advance on her annual pension, with which she temporarily satisfied the creditor who had sued her. As a result, she was allowed to leave the prison temporarily.

Emma used her regained freedom in July 1814 to flee to France, as Napoleon was no longer in danger because of his defeat and exile. With her daughter Horatia and a small sum of money she landed in Calais in July 1814 . At first, Emma and Horatia stayed in relatively expensive accommodations and, according to their correspondence at the time, afforded themselves partridges, turkeys and turbot at times. In addition, Lady Hamilton continued to teach her daughter. After almost all of her money had been used up in October, she moved into a cheap apartment with Horatia at 27 Rue Française and asked Lord Sidmouth and William Nelson for a financial injection in pleading letters. She received smaller amounts but was sick, often in bed, and over-drinking alcohol out of grief. Perhaps she joined the Catholic Church during her last life in France.

Emma Hamilton died on January 15, 1815 in Calais of cirrhosis of the liver as a result of alcoholism ; only Horatia and a priest were present at her deathbed. Six days later she was buried in a modest grave in the cemetery of the Church of Saint Pierre in Calais. The burial cost of over £ 28 was borne by an unknown Henry Cadogan; they were later returned to him by Mr. Smith. Emma's mother had also called herself Mrs. Cadogan since 1782, and according to one version, Henry Cadogan was allegedly the son of a Glamorganshire doctor who allegedly employed Emma's mother for some time. The coffin of the faded Lady Hamilton was transferred to the Brochot plain (near Saint Pierre) in 1816. In 1849 her remains were taken to the South Cemetery on Route de Dunkerque and buried in a mass grave. Where they rest today is unknown. The house where Emma died fell victim to the German bombing raids of World War II . A memorial was erected in 1994 on the site of her original grave, which is now in Parc Richelieu in the center of Calais.

Horatia was brought back to Great Britain by the British Consul in Calais and raised first by Nelson's sister and her husbands, Kate and George Matcham, and then by the family of Nelson's sister Susanna, the Boltons. In 1822 she married the Reverend Philip Ward, bore him eight children, and died in 1881. Although she knew Nelson was her father, she never wanted to admit that Emma was her mother. The last surviving letter from Lady Hamilton's older daughter, Little Emma , which she wrote to her mother in 1810, is a melancholy and at times enigmatic letter. Many points in Little Emma's relationship to her mother remain obscure. It is believed that Little Emma entered a monastery in east London a few years later, where she continued her life and died.

Aftermath

The adventurous life of the beautiful Lady Hamilton, which caused some scandals during her lifetime, was immortalized in numerous novels and plays. On October 20, 1921, the silent film Lady Hamilton by Richard Oswald premiered. Eduard Künneke wrote the (historically incorrect) operetta Lady Hamilton about her , which premiered in 1926. In 1929 Frank Lloyd directed The Uncrowned Queen (OT: The Divine Lady ). Corinne Griffith played Emma Hamilton, Victor Varconi played Admiral Nelson. Another film adaptation was made in 1941. In the British production Hamilton Woman (Original title: Lady Hamilton , in the US That Hamilton Woman published) by Alexander Korda play Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier , the leading roles as Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson. Winston Churchill called it his favorite film and claims to have seen it no less than 83 times. In 1968 the film Lady Hamilton - Between Shame and Love by Christian-Jaque was released. The masters of culinary art also dedicated some dishes to Emma Hamilton, such as Lady Hamilton sole .

The tableaus, also known as attitudes, are an art form in their own right of lasting importance.

Exhibitions

  • 2015/2016: Lady Hamilton: Eros and Attitude. Beauty and the reception of antiquity in Goethe's time , Casa di Goethe , Rome. Catalog.
  • 2016/2017: Emma Hamilton - Seduction and Celebrity . National Maritime Museum , Greenwich , London, England.

literature

Web links

Commons : Emma Hamilton  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ From Emma's Childhood to the End of Her Relationship with Fetherstonhaugh: Gilbert Sinoué, Emma. The life of Lady Hamilton , German paperback edition, Munich 2005, pp. 5–24.
  2. ^ Relationship with Greville: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 24–63.
  3. ^ Friedrich Rehberg: Drawings faithfully copied from nature at Naples: and with permission dedicated to the Right Honorable Sir William Hamilton. Rome 1794 digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3D~GB%3DqZ8NAAAAQAAJ~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided%3D~LT%3D~PUR%3D
  4. ↑ From Emma's trip to Naples to her request to Greville for a Christmas bonus for her grandmother: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 64–122.
  5. ↑ First meeting of Nelson with Emma and the beginning of her political role as confidante of Maria Karolina: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 123-133.
  6. ↑ G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 134–146, of Lady Hamilton's claims of her diplomatic successes for her homeland (transmission of the above-mentioned letters from the Spanish king to his brother Ferdinand IV of Naples; receipt of the provisioning permit for Nelson's ships) to be correct holds; the truthfulness of these claims is controversial among other researchers.
  7. ↑ From Emma's relationship with Nelson after the Battle of Abukir to the French invasion of Naples: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 148–155.
  8. ↑ From Emma's flight to Palermo with the royal family to the award of the Order of Malta: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 156–182.
  9. ↑ From Sir Hamilton's recall to his arrival in England: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 183-204.
  10. ^ From the arrival of the Hamiltons and Nelsons in London to the death of Sir William Hamilton: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 205–249.
  11. ^ From Nelson's long-distance relationship with Emma after Sir Williams' death to Nelson's death and funeral: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 250–280.
  12. ↑ Emma's last decade in increasing poverty: G. Sinoué, 2005, pp. 280–313.
  13. ^ Margrit Bischof, Claudia Rosiny: Concepts of dance culture: knowledge and ways of dance research . transcript Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-8394-1440-8 ( google.com [accessed February 28, 2016]).
  14. ↑ Gabriele Rippl: Descriptive art: on the intermedia poetics of Anglo-American Ikontexte (1880-2000) . Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-7705-4124-9 ( google.com [accessed on February 28, 2016]).
  15. ↑ John Hannavy: Encyclopedia of nineteenth-century photography: AI index . Taylor & Francis, 2008, ISBN 978-0-415-97235-2 ( google.com [accessed February 28, 2016]).
  16. ^ The first of the victorious Emma's in FAZ on November 27, 2015, page 13
personal data
SURNAME Hamilton, Emma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lady Hamilton (pseudonym); Lyon, Amy (correct baptismal name); Hart, Emily (pseudonym); Hart, Emma (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: April 26, 1765
PLACE OF BIRTH Ness , Cheshire
DATE OF DEATH January 15, 1815
Place of death Calais , France