Good afternoon dear friends. We have already talked a lot about crowns, scepters and other regalia that dazzle with their beauty. And today I suggest that we all get acquainted with a very interesting story of how one king refused the crown for the sake of love.
In the nineteenth century, exotic women became fashionable – actresses, dancers and ordinary adventurers who revolve in social circles and around artists. One of the most famous ladies of the century was Lola Montez. This woman had a bright temperament and a strong character. It was because of Lola that the university was closed, and the king abdicated the throne.
Who is she?
Her real name is Elizabeth Gilbert Rosana. She was born in 1821 in Ireland, the son of a military man and a housewife. When she was 3, her parents went to India and her father soon died of cholera. When Elizabeth turned 6, her mother decided to send her to England, and at the age of 16 she meets an officer with whom she goes to Calcutta.
India attracted the girl with its exoticism. It is here that Elizabeth begins to learn traditional Indian dances. After some time, it is not known how, but she ends up in Seville, where she continues to improve her dancing skills already in Spanish dances. An elderly Spanish gypsy named Dolores becomes her mentor. After the death of her teacher, Elizabeth inherited her nickname, Maria Dolores Montez, after which she always introduced herself as Lola Montez. With this name, she will conquer London.
In 1843, the British public already enthusiastically applauded Lola Montes. Her hot Spanish dances literally boiled the blood of even boring and cold Britons. Lola was crafty and came up with her own element, which attracted viewers. During the dance, she slightly lifted her skirt.
She calls herself Spanish, but there are those who catch her in a lie. Rumors are circulating that her dancing wasn’t really “Spanish”. Lola’s career is in jeopardy.
However, in her life there were always influential people who spoke in her favor.
Traveling through European capitals, in 1846 Lola Montes reached Bavaria. In Munich, she was awarded an audience with Ludwig I. The 60-year-old king falls in love at first sight with the 25-year-old temperamental dancer and immediately arranges her performances at the National Theater. It took Lola only a month for the king to lose his head. It even got to the point that he appointed her a life support before and after his death, regardless of whether she was married or widowed. So Lola receives an annual allowance from the royal treasury in the amount of today’s EUR 2.5 million!
The dancer stays in a luxurious apartment in the center of Munich and is literally immersed in flowers, jewelry and love letters. Ludwig I even granted her citizenship, and everyone around knew who they were dealing with. The beauty, however, continues to behave not at all like a lady from high society. She wears men’s trousers, boots and smokes cigars. Such overly emancipated behavior is interpreted as wrong in conservative Munich.
And in the end, the ministers of the king gave him an ultimatum: either Lola leaves the country or he resigns.
Ludwig I, not being conceited, made his choice in favor of …. Lola! Then a public protest began in Bavaria, organized by students. In response, Lola went out to the balcony of her apartment with a glass of wine in her hand, and raised a toast to “her subjects.”
The angry mob began to throw stones at her window. Upon learning that the students were cursing his beloved, the king issued an order … to close the university. In February 1848, a wave of protest against the king’s relationship with the dancer flared up with full force. Lola already has to leave the country to save her life. From Bavaria, she left for Switzerland, and in March 1848 Ludwig leaves the throne, and the crown passes to his son, Maximilian II Joseph.
The image of Lola in the movie The image of Lola in the movie
Lola goes to Geneva, from there to Paris and London. Left without funds, she turns to her former lover, the king without a crown, for help, and he, of course, helps her. Ludwig is still in love with her. In 1849, Lola published her memoirs to tell everyone about her love for the monarch. The book is even the basis of a play on Broadway, with the more than eloquent title “Lola Montez in Bavaria.”
At the same time, she marries a second time without being divorced from her first husband. She is even arrested for this.
After a while, Lola is released, they no longer love dancing the way they used to. And wherever she appears, her notoriety follows her. Poejou Lola decides to leave Europe and go to America. There she remarries. In 1855 she was already in Australia. After a short tour, Lola returns to Europe again and then goes to America.
After the death of her husband, Lola Montez returned to New York in 1857 and later lectured on political and social topics, which brought her considerable income. Lola Montez also published beauty and grooming advice, defended “fallen girls” and, under the influence of the Protestant priest Charles Chauncey Burr, turned into a true Christian. Her health began to deteriorate, Lola Montez survived several strokes, then fell ill with pneumonia, from which she died three weeks later.
This is how the fate of the bright dancer developed, at the age of 25 she became the favorite of the 60-year-old king, and who had been a goafine for a short time. Yes, she is beautiful and talented. But is it worth giving up the crown? How do you think?
