Lola Montez was the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Early Life of Lola Montez
Lola Montez was born Maria Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in Limerick, Ireland in 1818. Her father was an officer in the Kings Own Scottish Guard and her mother was from the respectable Oliver family. It is through her mother that Lola later claimed Spanish origins, the Count of Montlvo, who came to Ireland during the 15th Century.
When Lola was four, her father was stationed in India. Lola remained in India for four years, when she was sent back to England to start her formal education. In 1837, arrangements were made for Lola to marry a 60-year-old judge. Lola defied her parents by eloping with a young officer. It was to be the start of a life of defiance and independence.
The marriage to Lieutenant Thomas James was a disaster from the beginning. The couple journeyed to India where Thomas was stationed, then on to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan James left Lola for another officer’s wife and Lola returned to England.
Lola scraped together enough money to study dancing and language in Spain. She spent four month in Spain before venturing off to Belgium, where she hoped to “catch a prince.” She never made it to Belgium, running out of money. Instead she traveled with a older German gentleman to Warsaw, Poland. In Warsaw Lola got bit parts in Opera. Not for her dancing or singing, but for her looks. Petite with raven black hair and sparkling blue eyes, Lola would long rely on her beauty to make up for lack of any real talent.
Lola Finds Love
In 1844, Lola now age 26, found her way to Paris. She was quickly embraced by the cities bohemian circles. She worked as an actress, occasionally taking lovers, but none ever captured her heart until newspaper editor Alexandre Henri Dujarier came along the couple fell madly in love. Unfortunately, Dujarier was killed in a duel in March 1845. Lola was devastated. With a hardened heart, Lola left Paris in 1846, going on to Germany where she performed in theaters in Bavaria.
Lola & Ludwig I
Right from the beginning, Lola enchanted 60 old King Ludwig I. She was witty and intelligent and dazzling beautiful. Ludwig’s subjects were not so taken with her, however. For starters, she claimed to be Spanish, but could hardly speak the language. Some suspected she was an English or French spy. Lola did not often help her own cause. She was temperamental, petulant, and quick to lash out (literally, with a whip) to people whom she felt slighted her. The stuffy Catholic aristocracy was outraged when Ludwig made Lola Countess of Landsfeld. It wasn’t long (19 months) before Lola was ousted from Bavaria.
Lola Montez Dazzles United States
Lola continued to travel, though she would never top being mistress to a king or a Bavarian countess. She was able to capitalize on her notoriety with the American Public. People flocked to meet Lola in person. They didn’t care how she got her title. After more traveling through the United States and Australia Lola finally settled in New York City, where she joined the Episcopalian Church and helped support the Magdalene Society, a organization for reformed prostitutes. After an illness that may or may not have been related to syphilis, Lola Montez died at the age or 42 on January 17, 1861. She is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in New York City under the name of Mrs. Eliza Gilbert.
Sources:
Herman, Eleanor. Sex With Kings. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.
Kent, HRH Michael. Cupid and the King. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
