Lillie Langtry
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Emilie Charlotte Langtry (née Le Breton; October 13, 1853 – February 12, 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British-American socialite, actress and producer.
Born on the island of Jersey, upon marrying she moved to London in 1876. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses, and she was celebrated as a young woman of great beauty and charm.
By 1881, she had become an actress and starred in many plays in the UK and the United States, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Lady of Lyons, and As You Like It, eventually running her own stage production company. In later life she performed "dramatic sketches" in vaudeville. She was also known for her relationships with noblemen, including Edward VII, (Prince of Wales), the Charles Chetwynd-Talbot (20th Earl of Shrewsbury) and Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was the subject of widespread public and media interest.
Biography
Born in 1853 and known as Lillie from childhood, she was the daughter of the Very Reverend William Corbet Le Breton and his wife, a recognised beauty, Emilie Davis (née Martin). Lillie's parents had eloped to Gretna Green and, in 1842, married at Chelsea. Emilie Charlotte (Lillie) was born at the Old Rectory, St Saviour in Jersey where her father was Rector and Dean of Jersey
From Jersey to London
On March 9, 1874, 20-year-old Lillie married 26-year-old Irish landowner Edward Langtry, a widower, who had been married to Jane Frances Price. She was the sister of Elizabeth Ann Price, who had married Lillie's brother William. They held their wedding reception at The Royal Yacht Hotel in St. Helier, Jersey. Langtry was wealthy enough to own a large sailing yacht called Red Gauntlet, and Lillie insisted that he take her away from the Channel Islands. In 1876 they rented an apartment in Eaton Place, Belgravia, London, and moved to 17 Norfolk Street off Park Lane to accommodate the growing demands of Lillie's society visitors.
In an interview published in several newspapers (including the Brisbane Herald) in 1882, Lillie Langtry said:
It was through Thomas Heron Jones, Lord Ranelagh (7th Viscount Ranelagh) and the painter Frank Miles that I was first introduced to London Society ... I went to London and was brought out by my friends. Among the most enthusiastic of these was Mr Frank Miles, the artist. I learned afterwards that he saw me one evening at the theatre, and tried in vain to discover who I was. He went to his clubs and among his artist friends declaring he had seen a beauty, and he described me to everybody he knew, until one day one of his friends met me and he was duly introduced. Then Mr Miles came and begged me to sit for my portrait. I consented, and when the portrait was finished he sold it to Prince Leopold. From that time I was invited everywhere and made a great deal of by many members of the royal family and nobility. After Frank Miles I sat for portraits to John Everett Millais and Edward Burne-Jones and now William Powell Frith is putting my face in one of his great pictures.
In 1877 Lillie's brother Clement Le Breton had married Alice, an illegitimate daughter of Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh]], a friend of their father, and Ranelagh invited Lillie Langtry to a high-society reception at the home of Sir John Sebright, 9th Baronet Lady Sebright in Belgravia, at which she attracted notice for her beauty and wit. Langtry was in mourning for her youngest brother, who had been killed in a riding accident, so in contrast to most women's more elaborate clothing, she wore a simple black dress (which was to become her trademark) and no jewellery.
Before the end of the evening, Frank Miles had completed several sketches of her that became very popular on postcards. Another guest, Sir John Everett Millais, also a Jersey native, eventually painted her portrait. Langtry's nickname, the "Jersey Lily", was taken from the Jersey lily flower (Amaryllis belladonna), a symbol of Jersey. The nickname was popularised by Millais' portrait, entitled A Jersey Lily. (According to tradition, the two Jersey natives spoke Jèrriais to each other during the sittings.) The painting caused great interest when exhibited at the Royal Academy and had to be roped off to avoid damage by the crowds. Langtry was portrayed holding a Guernsey lily (Nerine sarniensis) in the painting rather than a Jersey lily, as none of the latter was available during the sittings. A friend of Millais, Rupert Potter (father of Beatrix Potter), was a keen amateur photographer and took pictures of Lillie whilst she was visiting Millais in Scotland in 1879. She also sat for Sir Edward Poynter and is depicted in works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. She became much sought-after in London society, and invitations flooded in. Her fame soon reached royal ears.
Royal mistress
The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward ("Bertie", later Edward VII), arranged to sit next to Langtry at a dinner party given by Sir Allen Young on May 24, 1877.[18] (Lillie's husband Edward was seated at the other end of the table.) Although the Prince was married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark and had six children, he was a well-known philanderer. He became infatuated with Langtry, and she soon became his mistress. She was presented to the Prince's mother, Queen Victoria. Princess Alexandra chose to never display any jealousy about her husband's infidelities and accepted and acknowledged Lillie.[19]
Lillie's liaison with the Prince lasted from late 1877 to June 1880. Although remaining friends with the Prince, Lillie Langtry's physical relationship with him ended when she became pregnant. The father was probably her old friend Arthur Jones, who accompanied her to Paris for the birth of the child, Jeanne Marie, in March 1881.[20][21]
In July 1879, Langtry began an affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury; in January 1880, Langtry and the Earl were planning to run away together. In the autumn of 1879, scandal-mongering journalist Adolphus Rosenberg wrote in "Town Talk" of rumors that her husband would divorce her and cite, among others, the Prince of Wales as co-respondent. Rosenberg also wrote about Patsy Cornwallis-West, whose husband sued him for libel. At this point, the Prince of Wales instructed his solicitor George Lewis to sue also. Rosenberg pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.
For some time, the Prince saw little of Langtry. He remained fond of her and spoke well of her in her later career as a theatre actress; he used his influence to help and encourage her. With the withdrawal of royal favour, creditors closed in. The Langtrys' finances were not equal to their lifestyle. In October 1880, Langtry sold many of her possessions to meet her debts, allowing Edward Langtry to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy.
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