Mistresses: Emma Hamilton

In our new mistresses series we strive to tell the stories of famous women in history known for being the lovers of prominent men. The goal of this series is to perhaps shed light on lesser known details of these women, in order to bring them out of the shadows of the famous men in their lives.
In todays episode I will be discussing Emma Hamilton (1765 - 1815) best known for her affair with Horatio Nelson, she was born into poverty, worked as a maid at the age of 12 and due to her wit, charm and stunning beauty also became of the lover of two minor aristocrats. She went on to become the muse of George Romney, who obsessively painted her and to marry Sir William Hamilton who she lived with in a life of luxury in Naples, where she first clapped eyes on the war hero who would change her life. In addition, to enjoying an open affair with Nelson, she also cultivated an incredible reputation as a trend setting and excellent hostess. Emma also educated herself and was a great lover of art as well as an accomplished singer. In this episode I will discuss these aspects of her life and the treatment she suffered, which was a sad result of the closed minded era she lived in.

Images
@themuseumoffemininity Instagram

Sources
Beloved Emma: the Life of Lady Hamilton by Flora Fraser
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2002/george-romney/emma-hamilton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma,_Lady_Hamilton