9. Fumbling for power: Being a royal mistress

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter 1
2. Table of Contents 5
3. List of illustrations 9
4. Acknowledgements 13
5. Note on names 15
6. Dramatis personae 17
7. Genealogical charts 29
8. Introduction: Women living with power 31
9. Outsiders
10. 1. Rituals of royal compassion 47
11. 2. Why be at court? The example of the Königsmarcks 59
12. Insiders
13. 3. All the Queen’s women 77
14. 4. Noblewomen crossing borders 103
15. 5. Servants of power 121
16. 6. Left behind 149
17. 7. Filth among the apples: Hierarchy and gender at court 169
18. 8. A small circle with wide horizons 189
19. 9. Fumbling for power: Being a royal mistress 207
20. Royals
21. 10. The performance of a lifetime: Being Queen Consort 229
22. 11. The winding road: Royal marriage negotiations 243
23. 12. The broken mirror: Gender differences in the system of royal apartments 253
24. 13. Death and beyond 265
25. 14. The court as substitute family 287
26. 15. Epilogue 307
27. Glossary 311
28. Bibliography 313
29. Index 333