At 48, Bertie, the oldest son of Queen Victoria and thus the Prince of Wales, fell in love. And possibly for the first time. Her name was Daisy Greville and she was a socialite and the original ‘It Girl’.
Party-Girl
Daisy was 20 years younger than Bertie, but beautiful, charming, sophisticated, and very rich. Her mother, Blanche FitzRoy, was a descendant of Charles II through his most famous mistress, Nell Gwyn. The overly extravagant Daisy even had a railway branch installed to bring her guests directly to her home for outrageous parties.
Daisy was also titled. She was Countess of Warwick and hosted many of her famous parties at Warwick Castle. She spent money frivolously and her racy parties became known as ‘organised adultery’.
Bertie and Daisy
Bertie was introduced to Daisy in 1886 at one of her lavishly entertaining house parties. Their affair became common knowledge. But interestingly there was very little documented evidence of their relationship, which has left historians puzzled. A researcher noticed D’s written backwards in Bertie’s diaries. The letter became more frequent after Bertie and Daisy’s first meeting. And it was thus assumed that this was code Bertie used to keep his secret safe. His liaisons with Daisy became more frequent as their relationship became more intense.
“My darling Daisy wife”
Bertie fell deeply in love with Daisy and he even referred to her in his diaries as ‘My darling Daisy wife’. He wrote letters to her twice a day. He saw her frequently for morning tea, long dinners, and for regular social or private occasions. Historians now refer to this relationship as Bertie’s second marriage as he became more and more devoted to this remarkable woman.
Princess Alexandra
Bertie’s wife, Princess Alexandra, had turned a blind eye to all of Bertie’s previous relations. But this one was different. She felt threatened by Daisy and so became more distant. She started travelling abroad more frequently to visit her family in Denmark. And often for long periods. It was publicly humiliating for Bertie to have his wife so far away. But this was Alexandra’s only way she could punish him.
Bertie’s lifestyle
Bertie’s unhealthy lifestyle was catching up on him. He was obese and smoked very strong cigars. At this point (it is documented) he sought electrical treatment. This may have been for impotency, because it is believed that Daisy loved sex. She was known to have said, “I mate naturally with beauty or strength”.
Bertie was not able to satisfy her criteria on the beauty side, and now his strength was waning. Daisy’s insatiable appetite for sex led to pregnancy by another man. He was millionaire Joe Laycock, who had served in the Boer War.
After 10 years…
After a 10-year affair, Daisy wrote to Bertie to break off their relationship. Her letter does not exist today, but Bertie’s reply does. In his reply, he said he had shown the letter to Princess Alexandra, who was ‘moved to tears’ and commented that ‘Out of evil, good would come’.
Some believe that Daisy was one of the inspirations for the popular music hall song, “Daisy, Daisy, (give me your answer do. I’m half crazy, all for the love of you)”, which was composed in 1892.
After the death of Edward VII, Daisy tried, unsuccessfully, to blackmail his son, King George V. She threatened to publish private letters of his father. After years of extravagant living, she had depleted her immense inheritance and was fighting poverty.
Although Bertie loved his Danish princess and adored his children, there was always an emptiness in his life. This emptiness he filled with mistresses. And they all played very important roles in his life as a prince and as king of England.
