The Heir Apparent (95 page)

Hunting party at Kimbolton, 1868. Bertie stands on the balcony (middle). Beside him is Lord Hartington, and next to Hartington is his mistress Louise, Duchess of Manchester. Below, hatless, is Louise’s husband, the Duke of Manchester.

The Prince of Wales, c. 1867: Known for his womanizing and gambling, Bertie was an unpopular figure at this time.

Susan Vane-Tempest, Bertie’s discarded mistress. “I cannot describe to you
how
wretched I am,” she wrote him.

John Brown. Adored by Victoria but hated by the household, who called him “The Queen’s stallion.”

Danish sisters: Alix (right) and Minnie “double dressing.”

Minnie’s Russian family. The czar, Alexander II (seated) in front of his daughter, the Grand Duchess Marie, who married Affie in 1874. Alix’s sister Minnie sits with her baby, the future Nicholas II, on her knee. Her bearlike husband, the czarevitch Sasha, later Alexander III, stands behind her.

Alix (left) and (right) Oliver Montagu, her close friend and admirer. His support helped her survive Bertie’s unfaithfulness and Eddy’s death.

Bertie in Ceylon, 1875.

Lillie Langtry, the Professional Beauty (PB) whose Grecian profile took London—and Bertie—by storm.

Alix, photographed by Alexander Bassano in 1881. Note the collar of pearls concealing the scar on her neck.

Jennie Churchill, Bertie’s
chère amie.
“Had Lady Randolph Churchill been like her face she would’ve governed the world.”

Bertie and his family, 1884. From left: Georgie; Maud; Alix, looking thinner and prettier than her daughters; Eddy, breaking sartorial convention by wearing a wing collar, flamboyant tie, and spats with a kilt; Louise, Victoria.

Bertie’s daughters. From left: Maud, Victoria, and Louise, 1887. Unkindly known as “the Hags,” they still wore identical dresses though Louise was already twenty.