20 Mistresses Who Had More Power Than the Queens at Their Side

Agnès Sorel did more than simply burst into the life of Charles VII; she became the first officially recognized royal mistress in French history. Queen Marie of Anjou remained the king’s wife, but Agnès enjoyed privileged access to him, a fact that became less and less of a secret after Charles gave her the estate of Beauté-sur-Marne. 

Diane de Poitiers represented many things in the eyes of Henry II: his mistress, his advisor, and the woman whom many at court regarded as a queen. Catherine de’ Medici held the crown, but Diane received everything else, including the crown jewels, the highly coveted Château de Chenonceau, and Henry’s trust. 

Anne de Pisseleu became Francis I’s principal mistress after his return from captivity in Madrid, and she quickly turned this affection into a source of influence. Queen Eleanor of Austria officially held the position at Francis’s side, but it was Anne who became the queen’s lady-in-waiting, governess to the royal daughters, and protector of her own parents. Her enemies were not to be outdone either, and they wasted no time in stripping her of her influence after Francis’s death.

Gabrielle d’Estrées is often remembered as Henry IV’s great love, but she was much more than that. She was one of his closest advisors during the bloody wars that ravaged France. While Henry was still married to Marguerite de Valois, it was actually Gabrielle who steered him toward Catholicism and encouraged him to accept the Edict of Nantes. 

Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle was Louis XV’s mistress for only a short time, but she made the most of it. While Queen Marie Leszczyńska was largely kept out of serious political affairs, this was not the case for Marie-Anne; Châteauroux encouraged her to get involved in the War of the Austrian Succession. 

Madame de Pompadour may have begun to exert her influence as Louis XV’s official mistress, but she went on to become his friend, his advisor, and the guardian of royal culture long after their romance had ended. Marie Leszczyńska was devout and respected in her private life, but Versailles itself underscores that she was kept at a distance from serious affairs. This was not the case with Madame de Pompadour; she left her mark on every sphere, from patronage to royal tastes. 

When someone calls you “the true queen of France,” it means they know you wield a certain amount of influence. That is exactly how Madame de Montespan is described; she wielded such power over the court of Louis XIV that her contemporaries gave her this nickname. Queen Marie-Thérèse wore the crown, but Montespan had the apartments, the king’s children, and a circle of courtiers who were eager to remain in her good graces. 

Initially, Madame de Maintenon entered Louis XIV’s inner circle as the governess of his illegitimate children, born of his union with Montespan, but after the death of Queen Marie-Thérèse, she married him in secret. This decision made her, in a sense, a second wife and a queen, which enabled her to encourage Louis to adopt a more pious lifestyle and to establish a more austere court.

Barbara Villiers, also known as Lady Castlemaine, was not the kind of mistress to sit idly by. Catherine of Braganza may have been Charles II’s wife, but it was Barbara who called the shots, openly exerting her influence over her and even contributing to the downfall of the Earl of Clarendon. In short, her legendary temperament made her one of the most prominent female figures in Restoration England.

Louise de Kéroualle pursued a long-term strategy at the court of Charles II, and she carried it out with such skill that it sent shivers down the spines of English observers. Catherine de Bragance, incidentally, got along well with her, but Louise’s value to French interests gave her far greater political significance than that of a mere lady-in-waiting. 

Alice Perrers made her debut at Queen Philippa’s court and quickly established herself there. She became Edward III’s mistress during his final years, and after Philippa’s death, Alice’s influence continued to grow, to the point that she was nicknamed the “queen without a crown” during the political crisis of the 1370s. As if that weren’t enough, Parliament eventually turned against her, which shows just how seriously men took this woman who supposedly had no official status.

Jane Shore wasn’t the wealthiest. She wasn’t even the most charming of the royal mistresses. But that didn’t matter at all. Elizabeth Woodville remained the queen of Edward IV, but Jane wielded enough influence over the king to restore those who had fallen from grace to his favor. Admittedly, this seems less spectacular than orchestrating a coup, but when it came to pleading for forgiveness, her power mattered.

Melusine von der Schulenburg followed George I of Hanover to Great Britain, where she became Duchess of Kendal—and one of the most powerful women in Your Majesty’s inner circle. George’s wife, Sophie-Dorothea, had been imprisoned in Germany following their divorce; as for Melusine, she received all the titles, money, and influence that made her comparable to a queen.

Lola Montez arrived in Munich as a dancer and left after finding herself at the center of one of the biggest political scandals of the time. Queen Thérèse was still married to Louis I, but Lola had acquired a title and enough influence over the king to inflame public opinion. When Louis I abdicated amid the turmoil of 1848, one did not have to look far to find one of the sparks that ignited those unrest.

Anna Constantia von Brockdorff, better known as Countess Cosel, rose spectacularly through the ranks at the court of Augustus the Strong. His wife, Christiane Eberhardine, lived virtually apart from him, which allowed Cosel to obtain her own titles. That said, her story ended tragically with a long imprisonment at Stolpen Castle.

Catherine Dolgorukova became Alexander II’s long-term mistress during Empress Maria Alexandrovna’s illness—a sort of “secret wife.” This relationship caused quite a stir, especially since Alexander constantly visited Catherine, had children with her, and married her in a morganatic marriage shortly after the empress’s death. The Romanovs were not pleased, but the tsar’s devotion made it impossible to ignore Catherine.

As her marriage to Eudoxia Lopukhina began to fall apart, Anna Mons eventually established herself as Peter the Great’s long-time mistress. He gave her real estate, granted her a quasi-official status, and at one point, she even grew so close to him that rumors of marriage began to circulate. However, as soon as Peter sensed that she was now interested in someone else, this once-powerful mistress fell from grace in a spectacular fashion. 

The story of Wu Zetian is incredible, to say the least: starting out as a mere concubine, she returned to the court during the reign of Emperor Gaozong and eventually gained the upper hand over Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao. Once she became empress, her influence allowed her to rule the empire during Gaozong’s illness, before becoming the only woman to have ruled China unchallenged. 

Hürrem Sultan was also a concubine, but that did not prevent her from becoming Suleiman the Magnificent’s favorite (as well as his wife and political advisor). The Ottoman system did not really provide for a queen in the strict sense alongside Suleiman, but Hürrem’s rise nonetheless upended the hierarchy, especially after she overshadowed Mahidevran, the mother of Suleiman’s surviving eldest son. 

Cixi entered the Qing court as a concubine of Emperor Xianfeng, but that was only the beginning. It was undoubtedly her role as the mother of his only surviving son that paved the way for her the most. Empress Ci’an held a higher ceremonial rank after Xianfeng’s death, but Cixi proved to be the more skilled politician; thus, by the end of her reign, she was among the most powerful women in Chinese history.