102 Facts About Lillie Langtry

Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe, known as Lillie Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer.

Lillie Langtry's looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses, and she was celebrated as a young woman of great beauty and charm.

In 1881, Langtry became an actress and made her West End debut in the comedy She Stoops to Conquer, causing a sensation in London by becoming the first socialite to appear on stage.

Lillie Langtry starred in many plays in both the United Kingdom and the United States, including The Lady of Lyons, and Shakespeare's As You Like It.

One of the most glamorous British women of her era, Lillie Langtry was the subject of widespread public and media interest.

Lillie Langtry was known for her relationships with royal figures and noblemen, including the future King Edward VII, Lord Shrewsbury, and Prince Louis of Battenberg.

However, by lack of reliable sources - Lillie Langtry refused to write her "real reminiscences" - she still remains an enigmatic personality.

Lillie Langtry's parents had eloped to Gretna Green in Scotland, and, in 1842, married at St Luke's Church, Chelsea, London.

Lillie Langtry was baptised in St Saviour on 9 November 1853.

Lillie Langtry was the sixth of seven children and the only girl.

Lillie Langtry's brothers were Francis Corbet Le Breton, William Inglis Le Breton, Trevor Alexander Le Breton, Maurice Vavasour Le Breton, Clement Martin Le Breton, and Reginald Le Breton.

On 9 March 1874,20-year-old Lillie married 26-year-old Irish landowner Edward Langtry, a widower.

Langtry owned a large sailing yacht called Red Gauntlet, and Lillie insisted that he take her away from the Channel Islands.

Lillie Langtry was in mourning for her youngest brother, who had been killed in a riding accident, so in contrast to the elaborate clothes of most women in attendance, she wore a simple black dress and no jewellery.

Lillie Langtry sat for Sir Edward Poynter and is depicted in works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

Lillie Langtry arrived in the late 1870s, the heyday of 'the Professional Beauties'.

Margot Asquith later explained that Lillie Langtry's youth was the time 'of the great beauties.

Lillie Langtry held herself erect, refused to tighten her waist, and to see her walk was if you saw a beautiful hound set upon its feet.

Lillie Langtry's behaviour was in line with aristocratic expectations: 'her air, despite her vivacity and sensuality, was well-bred: she knew how to conduct herself in public'.

In 1878, Lillie Langtry attracted a lot of attention during the Ascot races, being 'at the height of her beauty and fame'.

However, there was another reason why Lillie Langtry attracted so much attention in 1878: the Prince of Wales was often seen in public with her.

The 23-year-old Lillie Langtry had been discovered only a month earlier but had already taken London society by storm.

Jane Ridley has questioned the myth which Lillie Langtry created about herself, especially the role of the future Edward VII.

For example, Lillie Langtry is alleged to have consummated her relationship with Prince Edward when his wife, Alexandra, refused to accompany him to a royal house party at Crichel in January 1878.

Lillie Langtry alleges that despite being presented towards the end of the evening, by when the Queen had usually retired, Victoria waited to see her.

In Ridley's view, Lillie Langtry invented stories implying that she was recognised as royal mistress.

However, there is correspondence between the Prince's private secretary, Francis Knollys, and the Prince's solicitor, George Lewis, which suggests that Edward Lillie Langtry used George Lewis as a broker, offering his silence and cash in exchange for the Prince's love letters.

In July 1879, Lillie Langtry began an affair with Lord Shrewsbury; in January 1880, they were planning to run away together.

In 1880, Lillie Langtry's reputation was tarnished by the Shrewsbury scandal, rumours of divorce, and a secret pregnancy.

In October 1880, Lillie Langtry sold many of her possessions to meet her debts, allowing him to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy.

Lillie Langtry had a short affair with Prince Louis of Battenberg.

Anyway, Lillie Langtry led Prince Louis to believe that he was the father of her child.

Lillie Langtry was lent 2000 pounds by the Prince of Wales to pay her debts.

Edward Lillie Langtry was constantly occupied with invitations to shoot or fish.

The worry was that if Edward Lillie Langtry discovered that his wife was pregnant by another man, he might sue for divorce, dragging the Prince of Wales into the law courts.

In 1902, Jeanne Marie Lillie Langtry married the Scottish politician Sir Ian Malcolm at St Margaret's, Westminster.

Lillie Langtry was a granddaughter of Lillie Langtry, actress, beauty and mistress of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.

Lillie Langtry's mother, Jeanne Marie, was conceived and born out of wedlock, and [Lady] Malcolm grew up believing that she was the daughter of a king.

Lillie Langtry first auditioned for an amateur production in the Twickenham Town Hall on 19 November 1881.

Lillie Langtry next performed in Ours at the same theatre.

Early in 1882, Lillie Langtry quit the production at the Haymarket and started her own company, touring the UK with various plays.

Lillie Langtry was still under the tutelage of Henrietta Labouchere.

Lillie Langtry arrived in October 1882 to be met by the press and Oscar Wilde, who was in New York on a lecture tour.

Lillie Langtry's first tour of the US was an enormous success, which she repeated in subsequent years.

The New York Times thought that Mrs Lillie Langtry's jewels were worth $100,000; her attire was so wonderful, so dazzling, so recklessly inappropriate -as it seemed- that a murmur of surprise ran through the auditorium.

Lillie Langtry returned to the US for tours in 1906 and again in 1912, appearing in vaudeville.

Lillie Langtry last appeared on stage in America in 1917.

From 1900 to 1903, with financial support from Edgar Israel Cohen, Lillie Langtry became the lessee and manager of London's Imperial Theatre.

For nearly a decade, from 1882 to 1891, Lillie Langtry had a relationship with an American, Frederick Gebhard, described as a young clubman, sportsman, horse owner, and admirer of feminine beauty, both on and off the stage.

Lillie Langtry was named for St Saviour's Church in Jersey, where Langtry's father had been rector and where she chose to be buried.

In 1889, Lillie Langtry met "an eccentric young bachelor, with vast estates in Scotland, a large breeding stud, a racing stable, and more money than he knew what to do with": this was George Alexander Baird or Squire Abington, as he came to be known.

Lillie Langtry inherited wealth from his grandfather, who with seven of his sons, had developed and prospered from coal and iron workings.

Lillie Langtry at first demurred, but others at the table advised her to accept, as this horse was a very fine prospect.

Lillie Langtry became involved in a relationship with Baird, from 1891 until his death in March 1893.

When Baird died, Lillie Langtry purchased two of his horses, Lady Rosebery and Studley Royal, at the estate dispersal sale.

Lillie Langtry moved her training to Sam Pickering's stables at Kentford House and took Regal Lodge as a residence in the village of Kentford, near Newmarket, Suffolk.

Lillie Langtry found mentors in Captain James Octavius Machell and Joe Thompson, who provided guidance on all matters related to the turf.

In 1899, James Machell sold his Newmarket stables to Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, a wealthy racehorse owner, who was Lillie Langtry's brother-in-law, having married Hugo de Bathe's sister Winifred in 1897.

Lillie Langtry was related to Langtry's first husband, Edward, whose ship-owning grandfather George had married into the County Antrim Callwell family, being related in marriage to the McCalmonts.

Lillie Langtry later had a second Cesarewitch winner with Yentoi, and a third place with Raytoi.

Lillie Langtry sold Regal Lodge and all her horse-racing interests in 1919 before she moved to Monaco.

Lillie Langtry was truly religious, believing, he told me "with the simple faith of a child".

Abraham Hayward, an influential journalist, wrote Gladstone a letter, dated 8 January 1882: 'Mrs Lillie Langtry, who is an enthusiastic admirer of yours, told me this afternoon that she should be feel highly flattered if you would call on her, and I tell you this, although I fear you have other more pressing overtures just at present.

Lillie Langtry's address is 18 Albert Mansions, Victoria Street, and she is generally at home about six.

Lillie Langtry frequently visited performances of drawing-room comedies and drama.

Lillie Langtry did not avail himself of it, but he went and called at her house.

Lillie Langtry did not even see her, but all kinds of rumours are already abroad about his intimacy with the "professional beauty".

Gladstone presented Lillie Langtry Langry a copy of his favourite book, Sister Dora - a biography of a high-born woman who worked as a nurse among the poor.

Gladstone wrote her exactly one letter in the short period after Lillie Langtry tried to make contact with him while Gladstone didn't know well how to deal with the situation.

In 1888, Lillie Langtry became a property owner in the United States when she and Frederick Gebhard purchased adjoining ranches in Lake County, California.

Lillie Langtry established a winery with an area of 4,200 acres in Guenoc Valley, producing red wine.

Lillie Langtry's ownership of land in America was introduced in evidence at her divorce to help demonstrate to the judge that she was a citizen of the country.

Lillie Langtry's death was probably the result of a brain haemorrhage after a fall during a steamer crossing from Belfast to Liverpool.

Lillie Langtry was buried in Overleigh Cemetery; a verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest.

Lillie Langtry continued to have involvement with her husband's Irish properties after his death.

Lillie Langtry was assigned to the Robert's Horse Mounted brigade as a lieutenant.

In 1907, Hugo's father died; he became the 5th Baronet, and Lillie Langtry became Lady de Bathe.

Lillie Langtry died in Monaco at dawn on 12 February 1929.

Lillie Langtry had asked to be buried in her parents' tomb at St Saviour's Church in Jersey.

The death of the famous Lillie Langtry made headlines in British newspapers.

The Daily Telegraph published both a news article and an obituary full of memories of a contemporary of Lillie Langtry who had known her in society years and had followed her acting career.

Lillie Langtry overcame many obstacles, and, although she was never a great actress, her beauty and her charm of manner brought her a large measure of success.

Mrs Lillie Langtry became so popular in America that she paid many visits to that country, her last being in 1915.

Lillie Langtry's personality counted for much, and she gradually acquired the technique of the stage.

Lillie Langtry was a woman who knew how to make the most of her graces.

Lillie Langtry danced with the vitality of a young woman when she was seventy she wrote a book of reminiscences a year later, and even after a severe illness the beauty of her complexion and of her eyes still remained.

Lillie Langtry was accompanied by Lady Malcolm and the solicitor to the estate.

Lillie Langtry used her famous ivory complexion to generate income, being the first woman to endorse a commercial product when she began advertising Pears soap in 1882.

Lillie Langtry is a featured character in the fictional The Flashman Papers novels of George MacDonald Fraser, in which she is noted as a former lover of arch-cad Harry Flashman, who, nonetheless, describes her as one of his few true loves.

Lillie Langtry is suggested as an inspiration for Irene Adler, a character in the Sherlock Holmes fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Lillie Langtry is used as a touchstone for old-fashioned manners in Preston Sturges's comedy The Lady Eve, in a scene where a corpulent woman drops a handkerchief on the floor and the hero ignores it.

Lillie Langtry is the inspiration for The Who's 1967 hit single "Pictures of Lily", as mentioned in Pete Townshend's 2012 memoir Who I Am.

Lillie Langtry is depicted as a singer, not an actress, and Dixie Carter's costuming appears closer to Mae West than anything Lillie Langtry ever wore.

Lillie Langtry is a featured character in the play Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily by Katie Forgette.

When first married, Edward and Lillie Langtry had a property called Cliffe Lodge in Southampton, Hampshire.

Lillie Langtry lived at 21 Pont Street, London, from 1890 to 1897, and had with her eight servants at the 1891 census.

Lillie Langtry gave this address when sailing on the liner St Paul across the Atlantic in August 1916, and the 1920 London electoral register has de Bathe, Emilie Charlotte, listed at the same address.

Lillie Langtry was a cousin of local politician Philip Le Breton, pioneer for the preservation of Hampstead Heath, whose wife was Anna Letitia Aikin.

Lillie Langtry owned a luxury steam auxiliary yacht called White Ladye from 1891 to 1897.

In 1893, Ogden Goelet leased the vessel from Lillie Langtry and used it until his death in 1897.

Lillie Langtry put the White Ladye up for auction in November 1897 at the Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, London.

Lillie Langtry owned it until his death on board in 1900.