1789 Engraving of Emma Hamilton – Wellcome Images/CC BY 4.0
Lady Emma Hamilton – The Story of a Great Naval Hero’s Mistress By Margaret Brecknell
A special ceremony is held each October to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and to commemorate Britain’s most famous naval hero, Admiral Lord Nelson.
N
elson was fatally wounded during the battle and was subsequently laid to rest amidst great ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral. One significant person, however, was missing from the funeral, namely his long-time mistress, Lady Emma Hamilton. She was said to be inconsolable at not being allowed to attend. Emma Hamilton was born here in the North-West on 26th April 1765, the daughter of the local blacksmith in the village of Ness on the Wirral Peninsula. Her father died when she was still a baby and she was brought up by her mother and grandmother just across the Welsh border in Hawarden. 98
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
She was seemingly determined to escape her humble background from a young age. By her early teens, she had found employment as a maid and was working in London. Not much is known about her early years in the capital, but it is believed that she subsequently turned to acting and modelling. Actresses were not highly regarded in the late 18th century and it has been suggested that Emma may have worked as a prostitute during her teens, but no concrete evidence has been found to prove or disprove this theory. What is known, both from artists’ portraits and contemporary accounts, is that Emma was an attractive and vivacious young woman and she quickly became expert in using her charms as a means of escaping poverty and climbing the social ladder. When still only in her mid-teens, she became mistress to Sir Henry Fetherstonhaugh and was invited to stay at his country estate in Sussex. By 1781, she had fallen pregnant and was swiftly abandoned by the aristocrat, although it www.lancmag.com
