Harriet Howard, born Elizabeth Ann Haryett (1823–1865) was a mistress and financial backer of Louis-Napoleon, later Napoleon III of France.

London

Elizabeth Ann Haryett was the daughter of a boot-maker and the granddaughter of the owner of the Castle Hotel in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. At the age of fifteen she ran off with Jem Mason, a well-known jockey, to live with him in London. As his redheaded mistress and an aspiring actress, she renamed herself "Harriet Howard" and was referred to as "Miss Howard". At the age of 18 she took as her next lover and patron the married Major Mountjoy Martyn of the

Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

. Howard bore him a son, Martin Constantin Haryett, who at his baptism was presented as the child of her parents. The grateful Martyn bestowed a fortune on her and their son. At a party given by

Lady Blessington Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (née Power; 1 September 1789 – 4 June 1849), was an Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and ...

in 1846, Howard met Louis Napoleon, the Bonapartist

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the throne of France, at that time

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d in London. He moved in with her. With her wealth, she supported his efforts and conspiracies to return to France. Napoleon brought his two sons (Alexandre Louis Eugène and Louis Ernest Alexandre) – from an affair during his 1840–1846 imprisonment at Ham – into the household, where they were educated along with Martin.

Paris

In 1848 Napoleon returned to France and eventually became President. Howard with the three boys moved to the rue de Cirque adjacent to the Palais de l'Élysée, where she kept herself in the background as his mistress. She had a powerful enemy in Napoleon's cousin Princess Mathilde to whom he was once engaged (1836) and who also had supported him financially. Howard continued to support his aspirations to become emperor and largely financed his 1851 Coup d'état. One year later, after a confirming

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

, he became Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Soon, he was on a search for an empress, and Howard found herself cast aside. Napoleon, after having been rejected by

Carola of Vasa Carola of Vasa-Holstein-Gottorp (''Caroline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cäcilie''; 5 August 1833 – 15 December 1907), was by birth a titular Princess of Sweden and styled ''Princess of Vasa'' as member of the House of Holstein-Go ...

of Sweden and other high-standing members of the nobility, chose Eugenie de Montijo. Howard was sent away to

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

when Napoleon announced this marriage, and her secretary desk was emptied of its compromising letters.

Countess de Beauregard

Howard's fortune was built up again, as Napoleon repaid his financial obligations. She was given the title ''comtesse de Beauregard'', owner of the Château de Beauregard near the main route between

La Celle-Saint-Cloud La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a western suburb of Paris, from the center. Population Transport La Celle-Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on ...

and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

near Paris. Within six months of the marriage, Napoleon resumed his relationship with her. His wife, who found sex "disgusting", forbade him to see her, and he, being in need of an heir, had to submit. Eventually in 1854, Howard married Captain Clarence

Trelawny Trelawny or Trelawney may refer to: Places * Trelawny (electoral division), an electoral division of Cornwall * Trelawny, Black Hill, Ballarat, a heritage house in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia * Trelawny, Jamaica, a parish of Cornwall County, Jam ...

, an English horse breeder who used her money for his business. The two sons of Napoleon she helped to raise returned to their mother. However, Harriet and Clarence's marriage was difficult and did not last – they divorced in 1865, the same year she died. The relationship to her son Martin was also strained – at his 21st birthday party, he asked her publicly: "Now that I'm grown, Mother, won't you tell me who my father was?". Martin was later made ''comte de Béchevêt'' by Napoleon III, married into

Hungarian nobility The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high ...

and had three children, Richard Martyn Haryett de Béchevêt, Grisilde Charlotte Haryett de Béchevêt and Marianne Josephine Haryett de Béchevêt. When Martin died in 1907, his son Richard inherited his title. She died in her castle on 19 August 1865 at 6:30 pm.Archives Départementales des Yvelines. She is buried alongside her son in the cemetery of

Le Chesnay Le Chesnay () is a former commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, fr ...

, located less than 900 metres from the château (now almost totally destroyed).

References

Sources

* Betty Kelen: The Mistresses. Domestic Scandals of Nineteenth-Century Monarchs. Random House, NY, 1966 * Simone Andre Maurois: Miss Howard and the Emperor. Knopf, 1958. {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Harriet 1823 births 1865 deaths People from Brighton English stage actresses Mistresses of Napoleon III English courtesans 19th-century English actresses