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EMMA, LADY HAMILTON (c.1761-1815)
Admiral Lord Nelson, called
“our greatest national hero” has been remembered by many ceremonies on this the
bicentenary of his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. However the vital part played by the great love of his life,
Emma, Lady Hamilton is seldom mentioned. Nelson first met her in Naples in 1793
when he was part of the Fleet in the Mediterranean. She was by then the wife of the British Ambassador, Sir William
Hamilton but had acquired a somewhat dubious reputation because of her previous
life as the mistress of several men including Sir Charles Greville, the nephew
of Sir William.. However she was loving
and devoted wife to Sir William and was described as having a “fresh and
exquisite beauty”. She was also the
close friend and adviser of the Queen of Naples at a critical period in
England’s history. She is known to
have played a vital role in the war against France, first by warning Nelson of a secret and dangerous alliance
between Spain and Naples, and secondly by convincing her friend the Queen of
Naples to arrange for the English fleet to get supplies “in any port in
Sicily”. This enabled the fleet to sail to Egypt, where it destroyed the French
fleet at the Battle of the Nile. She
became Nelson’s mistress in 1798 when he returned to Naples to a hero’s
welcome. From that time Nelson lived
with the Hamiltons until Sir William died.
On their return to England
Nelson divorced his wife and in 1801 Emma had a daughter, Horatio, acknowledged
by Nelson as his. Emma was never
accepted by the Court of George III but she had many other friends at all
levels of society, including members of the
Nelson family.
Until 1803, when Sir William Hamilton died, all three
lived together in Merton Place (Nelson’s house), with both Nelson and Emma
lovingly caring for Sir William. After Nelson was recalled to sea Emma and he
exchanged many letters expressing their sorrow at being apart. Nelson only
managed one brief visit to England before returning to his ship and his death
at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Emma came from a very poor
background but because of her beauty and natural charm, combined with
a warm and generous nature, she became an assured Ambassador’s wife, and an
accomplished hostess. She was painted
many times by famous artists, particularly by George Romney. On the very day he was killed at the Battle
of Trafalgar, Nelson wrote a codicil to his will referring in detail to the two
occasions when Emma had “been of the greatest service to King and country” and
asking that she should be given “an ample provision to maintain her rank in
life”. Regrettably this request was
ignored and she died at the age of 51 in poverty and exile in France.
1. BAILY, J.T.H: The
life of Lady Hamilton. 1905.
2. Nelson’s house, Merton
Place.
3. DE SELINCOURT, A: Six
great Englishmen. 1953.
4. NICOLAS, N. H: The
dispatches and letters of … Lord Nelson. 1846
dated – 20 July 2004