Royal Mistresses #2: Rose of the World, The Story of Rosamund Clifford

         Rosamund Clifford is one of the earliest and notorious of royal mistresses. Although not much is not known about her life, her death is the subject of folklore. Rosamund was the mistress of Henry II, the Angevin king who succeeded to the throne following the wars between his mother, the Empress Matilda, and her cousin, King Stephen. Henry's boldest move was marrying the older and divorced Eleanor of Aquitaine, who had been the Queen of France. An heiress in her own right of the Duchy of Aquitaine, which encompassed much of Southern, modern day France, Eleanor was rich and notorious. Eleanor and Henry produced  many children, but their relationship was a power struggle. One that was aggravated by Henry's love of Rosamund. 

Fair Rosamund by Waterhouse 

          Rosamund was the daughter of a lowly marcher lord. Her name may come from the Latin phrase "rosa mundi" meaning Rose of the World. In her early life, she was educated by nuns and was said to be very beautiful. 
       
          While Henry publicly acknowledged Rosamund as his mistress, the legends say he tried to keep her a secret from Eleanor. In doing so, he confined her to the innermost section of a great maze located at Woodstock. However, Eleanor sniffed out Rosamund's location, penetrated the inner maze, and confronted this upstart girl. Eleanor offered her a choice: die by poison or die by the dagger. Rosamund chose the poison. 

Eleanor poisons Rosamund by de Morgan

        These stories were mere elaborations. Rosamund died aged 30 at an abbey where she was living after Henry grew tired of her. At the time of her death, Eleanor was imprisoned by Henry for encouraging their sons to rebel. Likely, Henry didn't spend much time with Rosamund, as he was often traveling to his holdings on the continent. This love story in reality is quite the dud.