Emma Hamilton became a notorious figure in history due to her partaking in the events which shook the foundations of Europe.
Illiterate but beautiful, her warm hearted nature soon captured the heart of Captain Horatio Nelson. Had it not been for this connection, Emma would have remained a beauty on canvas.
George Romney often painted Emma … in various stages of nudity. He was fascinated by her.
Born into poverty as Emma Lyons, she later changed her name to Emma Hart. Emma struggled through life in her early years. Despite all her painful steps into the wider world, Emma was endowed with vitality and enthusiasm for life. Giving her the ability to face things with immense courage.
Emma fell pregnant with the child of Sir Harry Fetherstonehaugh. He was furious with her, so she turned towards Charles Greville. Hoping to become his mistress … this was not to be, despite his love for her.
Instead, she met Greville’s uncle, Sir William Hamilton, a fifty-four year old British Ambassador of Naples.
Greville convinced his uncle to take her to Naples. Through a twist of fate, Emma Hart soon became Lady Emma Hamilton.
Their social circle took an instant liking to her. She was amiable and charming. Happily married to Sir William, Emma flourished in her new Italian surroundings.
Queen Maria Carolina, sister of Marie Antoinette, and Emma became close friends … initially the Queen used Emma as a tool for her ambitions and fears.
But it was the French Revolution and the Queen needed an English ally.
At the start of the war, through the Queen, Emma met Nelson. Nelson, happily married but consumed by the war, welcomed Emma’s correspondence.
Her letters helped him through difficult times …
Times which took them forward to a future neither would have envisaged … a world of happiness … a world of love …
Esther Meynell (1878 – 1955) was a English author. She lived in Sussex and wrote many books on the area. Through marriage, Esther was the niece of poet and suffragette Alice Meynell. She is also known for her The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach, a fictional autobiography of Anna Magdalena Bach, the wife of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
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