607. Nelson’s Lover: The Scandalous Lady Hamilton
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My dearest beloved Emma, the dear friend of my bosom, the signal has been made that the enemy's combined fleet are coming out of port. We have very little wind, so that I have no hopes of seeing them before tomorrow. May the God of battles crown my endeavors with success. At all events, I will take care that my name shall ever be most dear to you and Horatia, both of whom I love as much as my own life. And as my last writing before the battle will be to you, so I hope in God that I shall live to finish my letter after the battle. So that was a letter by Admiral Horatio Nelson. It was written on the 19th of October, 1805, two days before his climactic date with destiny. One of the great dates in the British calendar, Tom, the date of the most titanic naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, Trafalgar.
And Emma, well, who was Emma? Emma is Nelson's mistress, Lady Hamilton. And Horatia, who he also mentions in that letter, is a four-year-old girl that he had always pretended was adopted, but in truth was his daughter by Emma Lady Hamilton. And in HMS Victory, his flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, he had their portraits in his cabin. They were his most precious possessions. But two days on from his writing of that letter, so the morning of the 21st of October, they had been stored away with all the other effects that he had in his cabin for safety. And that is because by this point... The French and Spanish fleet had come out from their harbor and lay 10 miles away off Cape Trafalgar in the south of Spain.
And at 6.22 a.m. on the 21st of October, 1805, Nelson gives the signal to his own fleet, prepare for battle. And slowly, slowly, slowly, the British fleet, with Nelson's own ship, HMS Victory, at its forefront, advances towards the French and Spanish battle line. And it does so at no more than a walking pace, two to three miles an hour. And so people may be wondering what was uppermost in Nelson's mind at this point. We know because as Victory is beginning her advance towards the line of battle, Nelson invites the flag captain of his ship, Thomas Hardy, and a second captain, Henry Blackwood, to serve as witnesses to a codicil that he had just made to his will. And I will read it. It's, I think, one of the most moving documents in the whole of British history.
October the 21st, 1805, then in sight of the combined fleets of France and Spain distant about 10 miles. And obviously, Nelson has placed HMS Victory at the very forefront of the battle. And so he knows there is a very strong possibility, one might almost say probability, that he will die in the coming battle. And that being so, his thoughts are all of Lady Hamilton. He writes in this will, therefore, that he leaves her, and I quote, "...a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–9:19
2
Who was Emma Hamilton and why is she significant?
9:19–18:15
3
What were Emma Hamilton's early life challenges?
18:15–33:20
4
How did Emma Hamilton rise to fame?
33:20–50:44
5
What role did Emma Hamilton play in British politics?
50:44–59:34
6
How did Emma's relationship with Sir William Hamilton evolve?
59:34–1:13:10
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Rest Is History
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