Alice Perrers: Accused Of Seducing A King With “Magic Rings”
Fake News from the 14th century
Alice Perrers had one very powerful friend: King Edward III (King of England 1327–77). But that led to her acquiring a lot of enemies, who made things very difficult for her after Edward died.
She was the daughter of a Hertfordshire knight and entered the service of Edward’s Queen Philippa when aged about 20, in 1365. Although she was not noticeably beautiful, she attracted the attention of King Edward and soon became his mistress, bearing him two children.
It became apparent that Alice had much more influence over Edward than Philippa ever managed, and this only increased after Philippa’s death in 1369.
Philippa of Hainault had actually been very influential in the past, being responsible for saving the lives of the “Burghers of Calais” in 1346, when Edward had threatened to execute four hostages but had been persuaded otherwise by Philippa. For Alice Perrers to have exceeded this level of persuasion she must have had an enormous degree of influence over the ageing King.
As Edward got older, his mental health went into a severe decline, his symptoms suggesting a form of dementia, and his dependence on Alice Perrers increased as his mind grew weaker.
