A favourite (

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...

) or favorite (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was especially a phenomenon of the 16th and 17th centuries, when government had become too complex for many hereditary rulers with no great interest in or talent for it, and political institutions were still evolving. From 1600 to 1660 there were particular successions of all-powerful minister-favourites in much of Europe, particularly in Spain, England, France and Sweden. The term is also sometimes employed by writers who want to avoid terms such as "

royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advic ...

", "friend", "companion", or "lover" (of any gender). Several favourites had sexual relations with the monarch (or the monarch's spouse), but the feelings of the monarch for the favourite ran the gamut from simple faith in the favourite's abilities to various degrees of emotional affection and dependence, and sometimes even encompassed sexual infatuation. The term has an inbuilt element of disapproval and is defined by the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

'' as "One who stands unduly high in the favour of a prince", citing

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

: "Like favourites/ Made proud by Princes" ('' Much Ado about Nothing'', 3.1.9).

Rises and falls of favourites

Favourites inevitably tended to incur the envy and loathing of the rest of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, and

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

s were sometimes obliged by political pressure to dismiss or execute them; in the Middle Ages nobles often rebelled in order to seize and kill a favourite. Too close a relationship between monarch and favourite was seen as a breach of the natural order and hierarchy of society. Since many favourites had flamboyant "over-reaching" personalities, they often led the way to their own downfall with their rash behaviour. As the opinions of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

and

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

grew in importance, they too often strongly disliked favourites. Dislike from all classes could be especially intense in the case of favourites who were elevated from humble, or at least minor, backgrounds by royal favour. Titles and estates were usually given lavishly to favourites, who were compared to

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s because they sprang up suddenly overnight, from a bed of excrement. The King's favourite Piers Gaveston is a "night-grown mushrump" (mushroom) to his enemies in

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon t ...

's ''

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

''. Their falls could be even more sudden, but after about 1650, executions tended to give way to quiet retirement. Favourites who came from the higher nobility, such as

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Lerma, Olivares, and Oxenstierna, were often less resented and lasted longer. Successful minister-favourites also usually needed networks of their own favourites and relatives to help them carry out the work of government – Richelieu had his "créatures" and Olivares his "hechuras". Oxenstierna and William Cecil, who both died in office, successfully trained their sons to succeed them. The favourite can often not be easily distinguished from the successful royal administrator, who at the top of the tree certainly needed the favour of the monarch, but the term is generally used of those who first came into contact with the monarch through the social life of the court, rather than the business of politics or administration. Figures like William Cecil and

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the country ...

, whose accelerated rise through the administrative ranks owed much to their personal relations with the

, but who did not attempt to behave like grandees of the nobility, were also often successful.

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

had Cecil as Secretary of State and later

Lord High Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State ...

from the time she ascended the throne in 1558 until his death 40 years later. She had more colourful relationships with several courtiers; the most lasting and intimate one was with

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was o ...

, who was also a leading politician. Only in her last decade was the position of the Cecils, father and son, challenged by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, when he fatally attempted a coup against the younger Cecil.

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...

was one figure who rose through the administrative hierarchy, but then lived extremely ostentatiously, before falling suddenly from power. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in particular, many royal favourites were promoted in the church, English examples including Saints

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in ...

and

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...

; Bishops William Waynflete,

Robert Burnell Robert Burnell (sometimes spelled Robert Burnel;Harding ''England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 159 c. 1239 – 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, h ...

and Walter Reynolds.

Cardinal Granvelle Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (20 August 151721 September 1586), Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Bisontin ( Free Imperial City of Besançon) statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsbur ...

, like his father, was a trusted Habsburg minister who lived grandly, but he was not really a favourite, partly because most of his career was spent away from the monarch. Some favourites came from very humble backgrounds:

Archibald Armstrong Archibald Armstrong (died March 1672), court jester, called "Archy", was a native of Cumberland, and according to tradition first distinguished himself as a sheep thief; afterwards he entered the service of James VI, with whom he became a favourite ...

jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs ...

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

infuriated everyone else at court but managed to retire a wealthy man; unlike Robert Cochrane, a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, ...

(probably a senior one, more like an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

than an

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

) who became Earl of Mar before the Scottish nobles revolted against him and hanged him and other low-born favourites of

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh C ...

Olivier le Daim Olivier le Daim (born Olivier de Neckere; c. 1428 – May 21, 1484) was a French favourite courtier and close advisor of Louis XI of France. Life He was born of humble parentage at Tielt in Flanders. His original surname was "de Neckere", that ...

, the barber of Louis XI, acquired a title and important military commands before he was executed on vague charges brought by nobles shortly after his master died, without the knowledge of the new king. It has been claimed that le Daim's career was the origin of the term, as ''favori'' (the French word) first appeared around the time of his death in 1484. ''Privado'' in Spanish was older, but was later partly replaced by the term ''valido''; in Spanish, both terms were less derogatory than in French and English. Spain had a succession of ''validos'' during the reigns of Philip II, Philip III, and Philip IV. Such rises from menial positions became progressively harder as the centuries progressed; one of the last families able to jump the widening chasm between servants and nobility was that of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

's valet, Alexandre Bontemps, whose descendants, holding the office for a further three generations, married into many great families, even eventually including the extended royal family itself. Queen Victoria's John Brown came much too late; the devotion of the monarch and ability to terrorize her household led to hardly any rise in social or economic position.

Decline

In England, the scope for giving political power to a favourite was reduced by the growing importance of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. After the "mushroom"

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

was assassinated by John Felton in 1628, Charles I turned to Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who had been a leader of Parliamentary opposition to Buckingham and the King, but had become his supporter after Charles made concessions. Strafford can therefore hardly be called a favourite in the usual sense even though his relationship with Charles became very close. He was also from a well-established family, with powerful relations. After several years in power, Strafford was

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

by a Parliament now very hostile to him. When that process failed, it passed a

bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

for his execution without trial, and it put enough pressure on Charles that to his subsequent regret, Charles signed it, and Strafford was executed in 1641. There were later minister-favourites in England, but they knew that the favour of the monarch alone was not sufficient to rule, and most also had careers in Parliament. In France, the movement was in the opposite direction. On the death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, the 23-year-old Louis XIV determined that he would rule himself, and he did not allow the delegation of power to ministers that had marked the previous 40 years. The

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...

pioneered by

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, Mazarin's predecessor, was to be led by the monarch himself. Louis had many powerful ministers, notably

, in finances, and François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, the army, but the overall direction was never delegated, and no subsequent French minister ever equalled the power of the two cardinals. The

Spanish Habsburgs Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled b ...

were not capable of so much energy, but when Olivares was succeeded by his nephew, Luis Méndez de Haro, the last real ''valido'', the control of government into a single pair of hands had already been weakened.

In literature

Favourites were the subject of much contemporary debate, some of it involving a certain amount of danger for the participants. There were a large number of English plays on the subject, amongst the best known to be Marlowe's ''Edward II'' in which Piers Gaveston is a leading character, and ''

Sejanus His Fall ''Sejanus His Fall'', a 1603 play by Ben Jonson, is a tragedy about Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the favourite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. ''Sejanus His Fall'' was performed at court in 1603, and at the Globe Theatre in 1604. The latter perfo ...

'' (1603), for which

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

was called before the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

, accused of "Popery and treason", as the play was claimed by his enemies to contain allusions to the contemporary court of

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

, whose career under Tiberius was vividly described by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, was the subject of numerous works all around Europe.

was more cautious, and with the exceptions of Falstaff, badly disappointed in his hopes of becoming a favourite, and Cardinal Wolsey in ''Henry VIII'', he gives no major parts to favourites.

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

, almost a favourite himself, devoted much of his

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

''On Friendship'' to the subject, writing as a rising politician under Elizabeth I:

It is a strange thing to observe, how high a rate great kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship, whereof we speak: So great, as they purchase it, many times, at the hazard of their own safety and greatness. For princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune from that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit, except (to make themselves capable thereof) they raise some persons to be, as it were, companions and almost equals to themselves, which many times sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such persons the name of ''favorites'', or privadoes ... . And we see plainly that this hath been done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most politic that ever reigned; who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of their servants; whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed other likewise to call them in the same manner; using the word which is received between private men.

Lord Macaulay wrote in 1844 of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

's old tutor, John Stuart, who became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

: "He was a favourite, and favourites have always been odious in this country. No mere favourite had been at the head of the government since the dagger of Felton had reached the heart of the Duke of Buckingham".Essay on "The Earl of Chatham", quoted Elliott:1

Study of the subject

In 1974 Jean Bérenger published "Pour une enquête européenne, l’histoire du ministeriat au XVIIe siècle" in '' Annales'', a seminal study on the subject. According to Bérenger, the simultaneous success of minister-favorites in several monarchies of the 17th-century was not coincidental, but reflected some change that was taking place at the time.

J.H. Elliott Sir John Huxtable Elliott (23 June 1930 – 10 March 2022) was a British historian and Hispanist who was Regius Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford and honorary fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge. H ...

and Laurence Brockliss's work (that resulted in the collection of essays ''The World of the Favourite''), undertaken to explore the matter put forward by Bérenger, became the most important comparative treatment of this subject.

Notable favourites

*Biblical figures with many elements of the favourite are

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

) and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

(of Pharaoh) *

Ji Ru Jiru () was a trusted personal servant of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, the founder of China's Han Dynasty. Louis Crompton claims that Jiru was Gaozu's pillow companion, or homosexual lover, and that Jiru had more access to the emperor than did mini ...

, favourite of Emperor Gaozu of Han China (2nd century BC) * Hong Yu, favourite of Emperor Hui of Han *

, favourite of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, who executed him in 31 * Kapilar, a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

poet and alleged favorite of Vel Pari, died by vatakkiruttal around 125 CE at Kabilar Kundru after his beloved's death *

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...

, favourite of Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

, d. 130 * Cleander,

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

favourite of

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

, who executed him in 190 * Basil I the Macedonian, born a peasant, became a favourite of

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

, who raised him to co-emperor of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Basil later had Michael killed and succeeded as sole emperor, founding the Macedonian dynasty * Ibn Ammar came to the attention of the Muslim ruler of the ''

taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

'' of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

through his poetry and skill at

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

, but tried to seize part of the kingdom for himself, and was strangled personally by his monarch in 1086 * Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, possibly the lover of Edward II of England, was given high office, including being

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

when Edward went abroad, but was executed after capture by rebels in 1312 * Hugh the younger Despenser, also possibly the lover of Edward II, was captured and killed in a rebellion led by Edward's Queen in 1326 *

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence i ...

executed in 1453 after pressure from the nobility of Castile * Robert Cochrane, favourite of

, taken by a cabal of nobles led by Archibald "Bell the Cat" Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus and hanged along with his confederates from Lauder bridge * Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, favourite of Suleiman I of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, who ordered his execution in 1536, possibly on suspicion of treason *

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was o ...

favourite of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

for 30 years, rumoured lover and long-term candidate for her hand; also a leading patron and statesman. He was succeeded by his rasher stepson Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex who was executed in 1601 after an abortive coup *"

Les Mignons Les Mignons (from ''mignon'', French for "the darlings" or "the dainty ones") was a term used by polemicists in the contentious atmosphere of the French Wars of Religion and taken up by the people of Paris, to designate the favourites of Henry I ...

" ("the Darlings"), a group of favourites of

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Li ...

* Francisco Goméz de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma, died 1625, the first "valido", a semi-official title for Spanish favourites-ran Spain for 20 years before falling from favour and being replaced by

Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible. Notable peo ...

who ran Spain for a further 20 years *

Charles de Luynes Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of sc ...

in France, the '' mignon'' of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

, arranged the murder of the Queen Mother's favourite Concino Concini in 1617. Concini owed his favour to his wife's close relationship with

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

. *

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

, very influential politically and assassinated in 1628, was favourite to both

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

and his son

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

. James, who had been effectively orphaned as a baby, and was possibly homosexual, was very prone to dependency on favourites, although whether sexual activity took place remains unclear. Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 37 to James' 13 when they met, was forced into exile by opponents, and eventually succeeded by Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset; despite titles and wealth, both ended unhappily. *

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...

ran the government of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, very successfully, for over 40 years until his death in 1654, when his son Eric took over * Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars in France, executed in 1642 after leading a conspiracy against his rival and patron

, who governed France for 18 years * Cardinal Mazarin, governed France for almost 20 years until his death in 1661;

's public decision that he would thenceforward "govern alone" marked the end of the golden age of the favourite * Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor, was the favourite of the mentally-unstable Afonso VI of Portugal; notably, he convinced the king that his mother

Luisa de Guzmán Luisa María Francisca de Guzmán y Sandoval ( pt, Luísa Maria Francisca de Gusmão;. 13 October 1613 – 27 February 1666) was a queen consort of Portugal. She was the spouse of King John IV, the first Braganza ruler, as well as the mother o ...

was out to steal his throne and, as a result, Afonso had her sent to a convent * Corfitz Ulfeldt became son-in-law to

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mona ...

before trying to kill him, and then defecting to Swedish service *

Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, (15 June 1645 – 15 September 1712) was a leading British politician of the late 17th and the early 18th centuries. He was a Privy Councillor and Secretary of State for the Northern Department be ...

, a transitional figure as a protégé of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

who also had a successful career in

Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des Ursins Marie Anne or Marie-Anne is the name of: Aristocrats * Princess Marie Anne of France (1664-1664?), daughter of King Louis XIV of France * Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal (1861-1942), Portuguese infanta and Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg * Mari ...

(died 1722) through force of character enjoyed extraordinary power successively in the courts of France, Spain and the English Jacobite exiles *

Constantine Phaulkon Constantine Phaulkon (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Γεράκης, ''Konstantinos Gerakis''; γεράκι is the Greek word for "falcon"; 1647 – 5 June 1688, also known as Costantin Gerachi, ''Capitão Falcão'' in Portuguese and simply as ' ...

, Greek first counsellor of King Narai of Ayutthaya, his influences over the King led to the

Siamese revolution of 1688 The Siamese revolution of 1688 was a major popular uprising in the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom (modern Thailand) which led to the overthrow of the pro-French Siamese king Narai. Phetracha, previously one of Narai's trusted military advisors, too ...

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...

, domineering friend of

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...

, eventually supplanted by her cousin Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham * Alexander Menshikov, lifelong best friend of

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from ...

, came from the most humble origins and attained enormous power, not least after the Tsar's death, when he was ''de facto'' ruler for two years until he was banished to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

Heinrich von Brühl Heinrich, count von Brühl ( pl, Henryk Brühl, 13 August 170028 October 1763), was a Polish-Saxon statesman at the court of Saxony and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the powerful German von Brühl family. The incumbency ...

(1700-1763), greedy, venal and ultimately disastrous Prime Minister of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...

Johann Friedrich Struensee Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish governmen ...

in Denmark, the royal doctor, who ran the government of the schizophrenic Christian VII whilst having an affair with the Queen, before being executed in 1772 *

Heshen Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the Manchu Niohuru clan, was an official of the Qing dynasty favored by the Qianlong Emperor and called the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After the death of Qianlong, the Jiaqing Em ...

, who amassed an enormous fortune during the latter part of the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

* Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin (died 1791) was the lover of the Empress

Catherine II of Russia , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

for two years, but continued to have enormous power in the government for a further fifteen * Platon Alexandrovich Zubov was the last favourite of the Empress

who later took substantial part in the murder of her son and heir * Marie-Louise, princesse de Lamballe (died 1792) was the dear friend of

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

and stayed faithful to her until her death * Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac (died 1793) was the favourite of the last queen of France, Marie-Antoinette, and one of the few women that King Louis XVI liked and trusted *

Manuel de Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many ...

, whose unpopularity led, along with Napoleon's dynastic ambitions, to the abdication of

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother = Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place ...

in 1808, after which Godoy spent over 40 years in exile *

Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the ...

, Mystic favourite of the Romanov family of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, murdered in 1916 *

Choi Soon-sil Choi Soon-sil (; born June 23, 1956) is an individual known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, which stemmed from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. Biography Choi Soon- ...

, favourite of

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

, former

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and ...

Mistresses

* Margaret Erskine, mistress of James V of Scotland and mother of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray *

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and famil ...

, mistress of

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...

Louise de La Vallière Françoise ''Louise'' de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours, born Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Mademoiselle de La Vallière (6 August 1644 – 7 June 1710) was a French noblewoman and the first mistress ...

, mistress of Louis XIV of France, succeeded by Madame de Montespan * Madame de Maintenon refused to become the mistress of Louis XIV, and became his second, morganatic wife. *

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rem ...

, mistress of

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last '' maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly bei ...

, later lover of

, guillotined during the French Revolution

Notes

References

*Adams, Simon: ''Leicester and the Court: Essays in Elizabethan Politics'' Manchester UP 2002 *J.H. Elliott and LWB Brockliss, eds, ''The World of the Favourite'',1999, Yale UP, {{Authority control Royalty Monarchy Late modern Europe Government