Dorothy Jordan

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Not to be confused with Dorothy Jordan Lloyd.
Dorothy Jordan in the Character of Hypolita, mezzotint by John Jones of London, 1791, after a painting by John Hoppner
Dorothy Jordan in the Character of Hypolita, mezzotint by John Jones of London, 1791, after a painting by John Hoppner

Dorothy Jordan (November 21, 1761 – July 5, 1816) was a British actress, courtesan and the mistress and famous companion of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom, while he was Duke of Clarence, for 20 years.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

She was born Dorothea (sometimes called Dorothy or Dora) Bland near Waterford, the daughter of Francis Bland (d. 1778) and his mistress, née Grace Phillips, and paternal granddaughter of Nathaneal Bland (d. 1760), Vicar General of Ardfert and Agadhoe and Judge Prerogative Court, of Dublin, Ireland, and his wife Lucy (née Heaton).

In 1774, when she was 13, Dorothea's father, who worked as a stagehand, abandoned the family to marry an Irish actress. Though he continued to support the family by sending them meagre sums of money, they were poor and Dorothea had to go to work to help support her four siblings. Her mother, an actress by profession, saw potential in Dorothea and put her on the stage.

[edit] Stage Life & Early Relationships

She became an actress, a famous one of the day, and was said to have the most beautiful legs ever seen on the stage. She assumed the name "Mrs. Jordan", because it was slightly more respectable for a married woman to be on the stage (in fact, there was no "Mr. Jordan" and Dorothea Bland never married). Some sources state that the name and title were taken to conceal an early pregnancy. She had an affair with her first boss Richard Daly, who was the manager of the Theatre Royal, Cork and was married, and had an illegitimate daughter, Frances (b. 1782 Dublin), at age 20.

In England, she had a short lived affair with an army Lieutenant, Charles Doyne, who proposed marriage. But she turned him down and went to work for the theatre company operated by Tate Wilkinson. It was at this point she adopted the name "Mrs. Jordan" - a reference to her escape across the Irish Sea, likened to the River Jordan.[1]

Shortly after her affair with Wilkinson was over, she began an affair with George Inchbald, the male lead in the Wilkinson company. According to Claire Tomalin, Dorothea's biographer, Dorothea would have married Inchbald, so greatly was she in love with him, but that he never asked. Broken hearted, she left him in 1786 to begin an affair with Sir Richard Ford, a police magistrate and a lawyer. She moved in with Ford when he promised to marry her. They had three children, a short lived son and two daughters. She left him to begin her affair with the Duke of Clarence, once she realized that Ford was never going to marry her.[2]

[edit] Relationship with William IV

Pretty, witty and intelligent, Jordan soon came to the attention of wealthy men. She became William IV's mistress in 1791, and seemed to have not bothered herself with politics or the political intrigues that often went on behind the scenes in royal courts. She continued her acting career, and made public appearances with William IV when need-be. Together they had at least ten illegitimate children, all of whom took the surname FitzClarence:

[edit] Later Life

In 1811, at the end of her affair with William, the Duke of Clarence, she was given a yearly stipend by him and custody of their daughters while he retained custody of the boys. Part of her stipend included monies for the care of the children with a stipulation stating that in order to continue receiving that money, and retain custody, Dorothy must not return to the stage. In 1814, when a son in law became heavily in debt, Dorothy returned to the stage to help pay off that debt. Once the Duke received word of this, he removed their remaining daughters from her care, and took back her yearly stipend. To avoid creditors, she fled to France in 1815 and died at Saint-Cloud, near Paris, in poverty just a year later.

[edit] Notable Descendants

Her notable descendants include:

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Information on Bland, Dorothea
  2. ^ pg. 90 & 91, Ladies of the Bedchamber, Dennis Friedman
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