The Jersey Lily
Lillie Langtry was the original “pin-up” girl. She took London society by storm with her simple clothes and radiant complexion and she became an inspiration to some of the most important artist and poets of the day. An affair with the Prince of Wales added a hint of notoriety to her famous name and later helped to launch a successful stage career.
How did a young girl from Jersey achieve such fame? What role did beauty, scandal and the media play in creating the legend of the Jersey Lily?
Emile Charlotte Le Breton was born in the parish of St Saviour in 1853, the only daughter of six children of the Dean of Jersey. Against the wishes of her family, Lillie married a young widower from Belfast, Edward Langtry in 1874 and persuaded him to take her to London.
The Langtry’s spent a year in London before Lillie made a dramatic entrance into society that would captivate artists and poets including Sir John Everett Millais and Oscar Wilde. Her photograph was reproduced in London magazines, artists painted her portrait, and women followed her lead in style and fashion. Millais, came from an old Jersey family, did a painting of her with a lily in her hand, and entitled it ‘A Jersey Lily’.
Following a three year affair with the heir to the throne, Lillie fell in love with the Prince’s cousin. The dashing Prince Louis of Battenburg became the father of her only child, Jeanne-Marie, who was born in secrecy in Paris.
After a downturn in her fortunes, Lillie was persuaded by friends to consider a career on stage. Although by no means a great actress, the public flocked to see the legendary beauty which had been widely acknowledged as the mistress of the Prince of Wales. This success took her to the States where she drew huge crowds and scandalised the critics with controversial plays such as The Degenerates.
It was at her villa in Monaco that Lillie wrote her discreet autobiography The Days I know without any mention of the royal affairs or her illegitimate daughter. She died on 12th February 1929 at the age of 75 and was laid to rest in St Saviour’s churchyard in accordance with her wishes, not far from her childhood home. Where, as the daughter of Dean William Corbet Le Breton, she had spent a happy childhood in the company of her six brothers.
How did a young girl from Jersey achieve such fame? What role did beauty, scandal and the media play in creating the legend of the Jersey Lily?
Emile Charlotte Le Breton was born in the parish of St Saviour in 1853, the only daughter of six children of the Dean of Jersey. Against the wishes of her family, Lillie married a young widower from Belfast, Edward Langtry in 1874 and persuaded him to take her to London.
The Langtry’s spent a year in London before Lillie made a dramatic entrance into society that would captivate artists and poets including Sir John Everett Millais and Oscar Wilde. Her photograph was reproduced in London magazines, artists painted her portrait, and women followed her lead in style and fashion. Millais, came from an old Jersey family, did a painting of her with a lily in her hand, and entitled it ‘A Jersey Lily’.
Following a three year affair with the heir to the throne, Lillie fell in love with the Prince’s cousin. The dashing Prince Louis of Battenburg became the father of her only child, Jeanne-Marie, who was born in secrecy in Paris.
After a downturn in her fortunes, Lillie was persuaded by friends to consider a career on stage. Although by no means a great actress, the public flocked to see the legendary beauty which had been widely acknowledged as the mistress of the Prince of Wales. This success took her to the States where she drew huge crowds and scandalised the critics with controversial plays such as The Degenerates.
It was at her villa in Monaco that Lillie wrote her discreet autobiography The Days I know without any mention of the royal affairs or her illegitimate daughter. She died on 12th February 1929 at the age of 75 and was laid to rest in St Saviour’s churchyard in accordance with her wishes, not far from her childhood home. Where, as the daughter of Dean William Corbet Le Breton, she had spent a happy childhood in the company of her six brothers.