Howard, Elizabeth Ann (1823–1865)

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Howard, Elizabeth Ann (1823–1865)

Countess of Beauregard and mistress of Napoleon III. Name variations: Miss Howard; Harriet Howard. Born Elizabeth Ann Haryatt in England in 1823; died in 1865; married Charles Trelawney, in May 1854; children: (with a Major Martyn) son Martin (b. 1842).

Born in England in 1823, the beautiful Elizabeth Ann Haryatt was a skilled equestrian and granddaughter of the owner of the Castle Hotel in Brighton. At age 16, she ran off to London with the well-known jockey Jem Mason and changed her name to Harriet Howard to spare her family. Though Mason soon grew tired of Elizabeth, he continued to support her until she was 18, then passed her off to a Major Martyn who treated her handsomely, setting her up in a great house with numerous servants. Howard gave birth to a son by Martyn and presented it for baptism, claiming it was the son of her mother. Even so, Martyn was delighted with the news of the boy and endowed her with even more wealth and estates.

In 1846, when her son was four, Howard attended a party at Lady Blessington 's, where she met 39-year-old Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (soon to be Napoleon III). The 23-year-old Howard fell in love, left the generous Martyn, and opened a modest lodging house on Berkeley Street. The only other lodgers were Louis Napoleon and his conspiring friends, who were determined to set him up as head of France. Howard, dazzled by the name Bonaparte, was convinced that her son would grow up as a Bonaparte prince. She spent her mornings in study, engaging author Alexander Kinglake as tutor. Kinglake fell in love with the energetic, intelligent Howard but his overtures were spurned, and he grew to detest his rival. At the height of Napoleon III's glory, Kinglake would publish his History of the Invasion of the Crimea, in which he maintained that Napoleon and his band concocted the Crimean War to deflect criticism of their misdeeds. This viewpoint would become the credo of Red Republicans in France and poison public opinion of the emperor in England.

Louis Napoleon was so impressed with Elizabeth Howard that he entrusted two of his sons, from a liaison with a laundress at Ham, into her care. Goodhearted and generous, Howard was equally impressed with Louis and willingly handed him her jewels and all her liquid assets, including some rich Italian properties.

When Louis Napoleon left England to become president of the Republic of France, Elizabeth Howard accompanied him. She could often be seen riding with him in the Bois, along with the three boys. For awhile, she remained discreet and stayed in the background, but upon realizing that Napoleon preferred her in the shadows, she began to ask for more: an apartment at his residence at the Château of Saint-Cloud and some kind of position at official functions. When Napoleon turned his attentions to Empress Eugénie , Howard wrote a friend: "His Majesty was here last night offering to pay me off; yes, an earldom in my own right, a castle, and a decent French husband into the bargain…. The Lord Almighty spent two hours arguing with me…. Later he fell asleep on the crimson sofaand snored, while I wept." Howard threatened scandal and was paid off with 150,000 francs. "This sum may actually have been not hush money, but an installment of Napoleon's huge debt" to her, writes Betty Kelen . In the meantime, under a ruse, Napoleon asked Howard to undertake a secret mission to England, and she readily agreed. But when she arrived in LeHavre to set sail across the channel, her ship was delayed, and she stayed the night at an inn. The following morning, Howard picked up a copy of Le Moniteur and read of Napoleon's engagement to Eugénie. Furious, she ordered a special train and returned to her Paris house in the Rue de Cirque to find it ransacked. Though none of her valuables were missing, all papers detailing her relationship with Louis Napoleon had been taken.

Eventually, Napoleon returned her estates and repaid her $4 million. In September 1852, Elizabeth Howard purchased the Château de Beauregard, near Paris, and was granted the title countess of Beauregard. When Napoleon grew tired of Eugénie, he was back in her arms. Later, Howard grew plump, lost her two adopted sons to their original mother, and, in 1854, married well-to-do Charles Trelawney of England, who spent her money but despised her. When Elizabeth Ann Howard died, writes Kelen, "her will provided a large sum of money to found a refuge in England for young girls who had been seduced away from their homes." Her portrait hangs at Compiègne.