King Edward VII (nicknamed Bertie), had a custom made ‘siege d’amour’ (or love chair), kept at the famous Le Chabanais brothel in Paris. It was built to allow him to have sex with two or more people all at the same time.
The chair was the ultimate symbol of Bertie’s voracious sexual appetite, which became a constant headache for the royal family, especially his mother, who believed him utterly untrustworthy and severely limited his Royal responsibilities as a result.
However, the more Queen Victoria disapproved, the more extravagant Bertie became in his pursuits of pleasure, the chair being the ultimate testament to his rebellious and irresponsible behaviour. The press gave him the name ‘Dirty Bertie’.
It was said that his father had a word with him about his dalliances and then died shortly after their chat. Queen Victoria blamed his death on the stress brought about by “that dreadful business”, or at least a big contributing factor of it. She then arranged his marriage to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who bore him five children.
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Despite being married, it never stopped Bertie from having dalliances and affairs with numerous women, including those who were married and some of whom were known to the royal court of the day. He was even named as a respondent in a divorce petition between Lady Harriet Mordaunt whose husband, Sir Charles Mordaunt, named the then Prince as one of his wife’s lovers in the divorce correspondence, forcing the Prince to appear in court. The Prince swore under oath that they had never had an affair, but it was rumoured that he bribed the Viscount Cole (later 4th Earl of Enniskillen), who admitted adultery with Harriet and the divorce was granted anyway. Disgraced and divorced at 28, Harriet was declared insane and spent the rest of her days in an asylum; collateral damage to the lusts of the powerful Prince of Wales.
He was 60 years old by the time his assumed the throne in 1901, but even at his coronation “the King’s special ladies” had their own pew in Westminster Abbey.
Credits:
Melia Janssen | Wonders of the Past
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