Horace Ho
Escape Literature Period 5
Mr. Igler & Ms. Tabuche
Feb. 7th, 2022
The effect of personal emotional disputes (mistress) on the royal family's prestige
“By binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at the end of that time the matter
will be of no importance. At present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it may have
an influence upon European history. . . . The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every
precaution has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously
compromise one of the reigning families of Europe.” (Doyle, 5)
Sherlock regarded his client to be a rich person or a noble with titles at the time in his novel
"A Scandal in Bohemia." According to his understanding, those individuals were frightened of a
scandal that would harm their reputation. Nobles will marry other nobles Throughout the 1800s,
rather than plebeians. As a result, the King of Bohemia had a photograph taken with Irene Adler,
which will impact his wedding to the King of Scandinavia's second daughter.
Irene Idler did act as a mistress of King of Bohemian. In essence, a "mistress" is better
described as an "identity" rather than a "job." Within early European history, the extramarital
relationship was common among all classes (from the royal family until the middle class). The
source of this mess is due to the openness of Europeans' view of sexuality and the marriage
attitude guided by "willingness to bear children." As a result, in this group consciousness,
"cheating" and "extramarital relationships" are acceptable. Since aristocratic marriage most of the
time demands political matrimony, it became the most prevalent international contract in the era of
little countries before they became great powers. Perhaps the bride and groom both dislike each
spouse, and finally, European nobles compensated for their love desires by obtaining mistresses.
Many historical examples could explain the legitimacy, such as the 56 Mistresses of Henry IV, the
relationship between Marquise de Maintenon and Louis XIV, and the most recent instance is
Charles, Prince of Wales affair with Camilla. When a reporter confronted Prince Charles about
infidelity, he replied, "I don't want to be a prince without a mistress." The mistress's role in the
monarch family is significant, which is why those royals believe they deserve to have one.
The ending of the King of Bohemian case wouldn't be troublesome, even if Irene Idler
turned the photo to the King of Scandinavian. The Bohemia King of Bohemia existed in a political
marriage between a small nation he represented with a large country. As evidenced by the study of
the European royal family, having an underground connection is extremely common. Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle lived in a conservative and traditional Britain, in which the King was a devout
protestant, and the doctrine prohibited him from having a mistress, so Conan Doyle ignored other
royal traditions and unspoken rules; nevertheless, this is still a plausible beginning.
Reference
[1] “Mistress (Lover).” Wikipedia, 24 Jan. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistress_(lover).
[2] University of Cambridge. “Mistress, Miss, Mrs or Ms: Untangling the Shifting
History of Titles.” University of Cambridge, 6 Oct. 2014,
www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/mistress-miss-mrs-or-ms-untangling-the-shifting-h
istory-of-titles.
[3] Mason, Emma. “Mistresses through History: The Term Wasn’t Always about Secret
Sex.” History Extra, History Extra, 25 Feb. 2015,
www.historyextra.com/period/mistresses-through-history-the-term-wasnt-always-
about-secret-sex/.
[4] Little, Becky. “The Royal Mistress: Often the Most Powerful Person in a King’s
Court.” HISTORY, 3 May 2019,
www.history.com/news/royal-mistress-power-england-france-prince-william.
[5] Mackenzie, Jillian. “A Timeline of Charles and Camilla’s Royal Romance.” Town &
Country, 1 June 2017,
www.townandcountrymag.com/society/a9961113/prince-charles-camilla-parker-b
owles-relationship/.
