Sex with Kings – Eleanor Herman

This book offers a bit of everything: all the suspense of a thriller, a great deal of facts and background information which belong in non-fiction, and the most intimate insights into intrigues and plots. This book is simply ideal for a historical bestseller!

“If prostitution is the oldest profession in the world, then the finer art of being a mistress is the second oldest.” The author has come up with a truly racy subject. But hats off: the subject, already interesting in itself, has been written in brilliant, gallant and charming prose which shows enormous historical research and a great sense of fun. The author has an innate sense for historical detective work.

“The purpose of a royal marriage was neither happiness nor sexual fulfillment” -- good ground for adulterous royal alliances. This theme is illuminated with numerous examples and anecdotes from all sides. “It is easier to make peace in Europe than between two women,” lamented Louis XIV. He was right: there were few friendships among mistresses and other women in the king’s circle. There was poison, drowning and stabbing, however. Revenge and jealously ruled the day when it came to winning the most powerful man in the kingdom. “Power is the greatest aphrodisiac.”

But mistresses, often ambitious and power-hungry, often had political influence. Ministers cooperated with them. Court positions were often given to candidates selected by the mistress. The king’s decisions were usually influenced by her. Mistresses who “bought their power with sex, oiled the wheels of state.” Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV, is probably the best-known example, even though her sexual relationship with Louis turned into a deep friendship. Children from these unions ensured lifelong pensions for their mothers. It was no wonder that royal European courts were swimming with kings’ bastards. And the king’s illegitimate children were usually better-looking, smarter and healthier than those legitimate ones “coerced from royal loins by a sex act between near relatives, which usually produced another genetically inferior generation.”

Eleanor Herman goes systemically – and in an extremely entertaining manner -- straight through all the royal European families in her search through the centuries. Rich source material makes this topic shimmering and rich in perspective. One thing is clear: History and secrets around royal beds are not only the recipe for success of countless tabloids, they also give this book its royal charm. This book drops many famous names – Lola Montez, the mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria; Nell Gwyn, mistress of Charles II of England: Katharina Schratt, mistress of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef – his wife Sisi brought the two of them together. And finally, after a long and enjoyable trip through history one thing is clear – mistresses, writes the author, will always exist, even if they are no longer threatened for poor behavior by the guillotine, poison, torture or imprisonment. The life of Camilla Parker Bowles is not the same as her powerful predecessors.