The hardest task for a royal mistress was getting the public to actually like them. Nell Gwyn made that seem almost too easy. She also has a monument in London.
Nell Gwyn: The Beloved Mistress of Charles II
Henrietta of England: The Poisoned Duchess of Orléans
Henrietta of England, known as Minette, fled England at the age of only three, then became a very unhappy duchess, followed by her very mysterious early death.
Lucrezia Borgia: Poisoner, Seductress, Mother, Widow
Lucrezia Borgia and the entire Borgia family are quite infamous. Lucrezia wasn’t exactly undeserving of her reputation, but her story is crazier than we think.
Hortense Mancini: The Duchess Who Ran Away
Hortense Mancini was quite an interesting lady. She had a husband who knocked out female servants’ front teeth, she ran away from him, and became a royal mistress.
Cleopatra Selene II: The Only Daughter of the Last Pharaoh
Queen Cleopatra VII is quite famous for being the last Pharaoh of Egypt. Her daughter, the Queen of Mauretania, was even more amazing than she was.
Marie-Thérèse, Madame Royale: The Only Survivor of Her Family
Marie Antoinette is a much more famous than her family, including her mother, an Empress, her husband, a King, and her daughter, a Duchess, Queen, and neither.
Queen Berenice: The Solo Pharaoh of Egypt
More than two thousand years ago, a lady killed a bunch of people and attempted to rule Egypt on her own. That obviously didn’t end well, as we’ll see.
Amalia of Oldenburg: The Almost Assassinated Queen of Greece
Queen Amalia Maria Frederica of Oldenburg was quite an extraordinary queen. She was very unpopular, and the once-loved Queen was nearly killed.
Boudica: The Warrior Queen Who Embarrassed the Romans
Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, is famous for completely humiliating the Roman Empire. Her and her revolt are probably the most famous events of Roman Britain.
Joan of Navarre: The Seemingly Normal Queen
Joan I of Navarre was a regular queen. She became a country's first queen-regnant at the old age of one, then ran away to France with her mother, and made a happy political marriage.
The Royal Women 