Royal romancer: Which royal had the most mistresses? The biggest Lotherio revealed – Express

Kings and Queens throughout history have often been attractive propositions for royal mistresses and misters. These extramarital paramours have long been considered to hold considerable power given their choice of mate and the influence they sometimes have over the monarch with whom they are connected. Out of the British Royal Family, which royal monarch has been the biggest lothario?

Royal marriages were historically made for political purposes and kings often found love with a mistress.

Many of these mistresses led scintillating lives, mothered illegitimate children and carried out huge influence over their royal lover.

The names of these mistresses throughout history have become synonymous with notoriety and scandal, but which royal stud had the biggest public track record with mistresses?

Two kings are known for having at least six mistresses during their lives.

The first of these monarchs is King George IV, who reigned from January 1820 to June 1830.

King George IV led an extravagant lifestyle and was plunged into exorbitant debt as a result of his hedonism.

Before he ascended the throne, his father refused to help him with his debts unless he married his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick.

The Prince agreed and married her in April 1795, but the pair were ill-matched and the couple formally separated after the birth of their only child Princess Charlotte.

After that time, he met Maria Fitzherbert, who he remained close to throughout his life, despite several periods of estrangement.

Georges mistresses included Mary Robinson, who was offered 20,000 to become his mistress and was later paid off with a generous pension when she threatened to sell his letters to the newspapers when the affair ended in 1781.

He also saw Grace Elliott in 1782, the divorced wife of a physician, with whom he had an illegitimate daughter named Georgina Seymour.

His affair with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, began in 1793, after which she, aged 40 and a grandmother and mother of ten, dominated his life for some years.

In his later life, his mistresses were the Marchioness of Hertford, who used her influence turn the Prince towards the Tories, before her relationship with him ended in 1819.

The last mistress of King George IV was Marchioness Conyngham, who reportedly decided in 1806 to become his mistress but did not succeed until he became king in 1820.

Their relationship came to an end with Georges sudden death in 1830.

The other lothario king known for his liaisons was King Edward VII.

Edward VII was King of Great Britain and Ireland from January 1901 until his death in 1910.

Before Prince Charles, he was the longest-serving heir apparent to the British throne.

He married Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 but had several affairs throughout his life.

His first mistress was Sarah Bernhardt, who frequently attended her London and Paris performances and once, as a prank, played the part of a cadaver in one of her plays.

When he was King, he travelled on the royal yacht to visit her at her summer home on Belle-le.

Lady Randolph Churchill, an American socialite and the mother of British prime minister Winston Churchill, was the second mistress to Edward VII.

Celia Lee who wrote a biography about the Churchills, wrote of Lady Randolph: It was not a love affair between Jennie and the Prince but a matter of sexual convenience for both of them.

The way the Prince wrote to her, asking her to serve him tea in her geisha dress would have been a totally inappropriate way to address a woman, married, widowed or single.

This, and the amount of time they spent together, marks her out as having a sexual relationship with him.

Edward VIIs third affair was British-American socialite, actress and producer Lillie Langtry who the Prince met in 1877 at a dinner party given by Sir Allen Young.

The Prince became infatuated with Langtry, and she soon became his mistress.

The relationship lasted until June 1880 when she became pregnant with a daughter named Jeanne Marie, born in March 1881.

Daisy Greville, the Countess of Warwick, was the fourth mistress of the Prince, mistress to Edward VII having met him through her membership of the Marlborough House Set which was headed by the royal.

The next mistress of King Edward VII was Alice Keppel, who is the great-grandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The pair met in 1898, when Ms Keppel, 29 and the Prince of Wales, 56, became lovers.

The couple met regularly and their relationship lasted until his death in 1910.

Reportedly, Ms Keppell was one of the few people in Edward VIIs circle who was able to smooth his strange mood swings.

The final mistress of Edward VII was Agnes Keyser, a longtime mistress who was the most accepted within royal circles, potentially in light of their relationship which remained a more private affair than a public one.