Frank Cowper was titled The Last Pre-Raphaelite. I believe I now own this title. I title my cousin, Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, a Pre-Raphaelite Actress. My grandfather, Royal Rosamond, and his wife, gave birth to the New Pre-Raphaelite Theme. The Rosamond Name study is important.

John Presco

President: Royal Rosamond Press

Rosamond Genealogy Home Page (rootsweb.com)

“My name is Jimmy Rosamond. I am solely responsible for the content of these web pages and any errors therein. These pages contain my research as well as that of several cousins. I want to thank Gwen Rosamond Forrester, Betty Hirschman, Tom Rosamond, Ruth Menhel, and many others for their information and help.”

Dame Elizabeth (Liz) Rosemond Taylor, DBE (1932 – 2011) – Genealogy (geni.com)

Taylor has also been discussed by journalists and scholars interested in the role of women in Western society. Camille Paglia writes that Taylor was a “pre-feminist woman” who “wields the sexual power that feminism cannot explain and has tried to destroy. Through stars like Taylor, we sense the world-disordering impact of legendary women like Delilah, Salome, and Helen of Troy.”[130] In contrast, cultural critic M.G. Lord calls Taylor an “accidental feminist”, stating that while she did not identify as a feminist, many of her films had feminist themes and “introduced a broad audience to feminist ideas”.[131][b] Similarly, Ben W. Heineman Jr. and Cristine Russell write in The Atlantic that her role in Giant “dismantled stereotypes about women and minorities”.[132]

Taylor is considered a gay icon, and received widespread recognition for her HIV/AIDS activism.[125][133][134][135] After her death, GLAAD issued a statement saying that she “was an icon not only in Hollywood, but in the LGBT community, where she worked to ensure that everyone was treated with the respect and dignity we all deserve”,[133] and Sir Nick Partridge of the Terrence Higgins Trust called her “the first major star to publicly fight fear and prejudice towards AIDS”.[136] According to Paul Flynn of The Guardian, she was “a new type of gay icon, one whose position is based not on tragedy, but on her work for the LGBTQ community”.[137] Speaking of her charity work, former President Bill Clinton said at her death, “Elizabeth’s legacy will live on in many people around the world whose lives will be longer and better because of her work and the ongoing efforts of those she inspired.”[138]

Rosamond (opera) – Wikipedia

” Henry is meant to emblematize the Duke of Marlborough, England’s national hero for his victories in the War of the Spanish Succession.

How to read it: Frank Cadogan Cowper’s Vanity | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts

Frank C Cowper (1877–1958) – The Women Gallery (thewomangallery.com)

Frank Cadogan Cowper – Wikipedia

Frank Cowper – Wikipedia

Frank Cadogan Cowper RA (16 October 1877 – 17 November 1958)[1] was an English painter and illustrator of portraits, historical, and literary scenes, described as “The last of the Pre-Raphaelites“.[2]

Mocking the Meat It Feeds On: Representing Sarah Churchill’s Hystericks in Addison’s Rosamond Luis R. Gámez ? Modern readers of Joseph Addison’s opera Rosamond—like those audiences of its few 1 707 Drury Lane performances—tend to view it as a light, pleasing confection, one of several preHandel Italianate operas (that is, arias and recitatives all sung in English) that invaded London in the early eighteenth century. Dr. Johnson’s assessment speaks for many: The subject is well-chosen, the fiction is pleasing, and the praise of Marlborough … is, what perhaps every human excellence must be, the product of good-luck improved by genius. The thoughts are sometimes great, and sometimes tender; the versification is easy and gay. . . . The whole drama is airy and elegant; engaging in its process, and pleasing in its conclusion. If Addison had cultivated the lighter parts of poetry he would probably have excelled.1 The action centers upon Henry II’s affair with his lovely mistress Rosamond Clifford, whom he keeps at Wood-stock Park in Oxfordshire , in a bowery maze of Daedalian intricacy. The jealous queen Eleonora seeks out Rosamond and, offering to murder the young beauty, presents her with a dagger and a poisoned cup. Rosamond drinks from the cup and presumably dies, though actually only drugged; she is carried off to a neighboring convent where she will live her days atoning for her and Henry’s sins. King and Queen are reconciled, and all ends well. Some lighthearted action is provided by Rosamond’s guardian Sir Trusty and his marital squabbles with wife Gridclinc—squabbles which mirror the king and queen’s. Johnson’s “good-luck improved by genius” points to the public context for Addison’s design which all contemporary audi270 Luis R. Gómez271 enees would have assumed: Henry is meant to emblematize the Duke of Marlborough, England’s national hero for his victories in the War of the Spanish Succession. Addison’s best praise comes in a spectacular scene in the last act: King Henry dreams in the bower and—like Aeneas in the underworld, or Adam in Paradise Lost—has a vision of the future glory of England. A patriotic typology is at work here: Wood-stock Park, the setting of the Rosamond legend, happened to be the site of the new estate , Blenheim, that Queen Anne gave the Duke as a reward for his stupendous victory on the field of Blenheim on the Danube in 1704.: The spectators see a prospect of the modern Blenheim palace (at that time being completed for Marlborough) arise as part of Henry’s vision of “A thousand glorious Deeds that lye/ In deep Futurity obscure.”1 One part of the opera, though, leaves Johnson baffled, and that is Addison’s dedication oí Rosamond to Sarah Jennings Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough—”a woman,” he sneers, “without skill or pretensions to skill in poetry or literature”; for Dr. Johnson, Addison’s ridiculous dedication is “an instance of servile absurdity .”4 I believe, however, that a meaningful interpretation can be found not in a public but in a private context: Addison’s interest in hysterica pathi and particularly in the culturally constructed hysteria accepted by the friends and lovers of Sarah Churchill. Here I will present some account of that construed hysteria as it reflected Sarah’s troubled emotional state in the years 1703-04; I suggest that Addison’s Rosamond, besides complimenting the military prowess of the Duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession, is designed to allegorize Sarah’s passionate, heroic struggle with conflicting feelings ofjealousy and conjugal devotion. In his operatic representation of Sarah Churchill, I believe, Addison cautions against the dangerous intrusions of perceived female hysteria upon vital English interests; he presents a scene in which corrosive private hystericks and marital disfunctions threaten to leach into the groundwater of public affairs. II The spring of 1703 was the first emotional crisis for Sarah Churchill, for on 20 February her son Jack died of smallpox; he was the Marquis of Blandford, seventeen years old and the heir to the dukedom. Grief afflicted both parents, but maybe affected Sarah the most: she was rumored to have…

Episode Description:

On the third episode of Duchess, our host sits down with Henrietta Spencer-Chuchill in the breathtaking Blenheim Palace. We hear the amazing story of how the Palace came to be, and how one particular woman was fundamental to it’s construction, the ladies chat about Henrietta’s distinguished lineage, Henrietta’s memories of Winston Churchill, we are taken on a tour of the incredible architecture and interiors of Blenheim, and we hear about sacrifices former custodians have made to keep the Palace going.  

Have you ever watched Bridgerton, The Crown or Downton Abbey and wondered what it’s really like to be a Duchess? If so, this is the podcast for you.

Top Quotes:

“The heartbeat of a private heritage home is the family living in it.” Duchess

“My father always said: We are still fighting the battle of Blenheim. The battle doesn’t stop. We will always be fighting for Blenheim.” Henrietta

“Nothing is ever thrown away in a large house.” The Duchess

“It’s my duty to look after such a wonderful and beautiful home. It’s a part of our heritage. We’re very lucky to be a part of it.” Henrietta

“My motto is retain and restore, rather than rip out and replace.” Henrietta

About the Guest and Stately Home:

Henrietta Spencer-Churchill is an interior designer, author, and founder of Woodstock Designs. Henrietta, as the youngest child of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, grew up in Blenheim Palace. 

Situated in Oxfordshire, the site Blenheim occupies has been associated with history and the aristocracy for centuries: Henry II’s mistress Rosamund Clifford lived on the site, Elizabeth I was imprisoned by Mary I for a time here as well. Blenheim, which is the only non- royal and non-episcopal Palace in Britain, was built by the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough in the 18th century. The Palace is replete with magnificent Baroque architecture and contains a number of priceless art pieces and heirlooms – many of which are related to Winston Churchill who was born in Blenheim Palace. Now, the estate hosts events throughout the year; including cinema screenings, concerts, and exhibitions. Blenheim Palace is also recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

About the Host:

Emma Rutland, The Duchess of Rutland, did not always stride the halls of stately homes. Born Emma Watkins, the Duchess grew up the daughter of a Quaker farmer, in the Welsh marsh countryside. She trained as an opera singer in the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a successful interior designer before meeting her future husband David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, at a dinner party. Their marriage in 1992 would transform Emma Watkins into the 11th Duchess of Rutland, thrusting her into the world of aristocracy, and handing her the responsibility of one of the nation’s great treasures: Belvoir Castle. While simultaneously running the day to day operations of the castle, and raising five children, The Duchess became fascinated with the history and importance of the other stately homes of the UK. Join The Duchess as she embarks on a wonderful journey through time, to learn more about the incredible homes that have defined Great Britain and, most importantly, meet the other extraordinary women who work tirelessly behind their doors to preserve their history and magic for future generations. 

Rosamond and Diana at Blenheim Palace

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Royal Rosamond Press

The Family Tree of Fair Rosamomd and Princess Diana have roots at Blenheim palace, as does the Hart family. Though it can not be proven Ann Hart Hull had children from whom Royal Rosamond descends – at this time – my family is forever enjoined to the Legends of Rosamond that abound with speculations. When I connect Rosamond to the Holy Grail, then I will own all these legends that have come into my family in modern times. Fair Rosamond, and the seven Hart sisters, will be forever entwined.

The woman in the video looks looks like my Muse, Rena Christiansen, who will be my model for the painting I am doing of Rosamond Clifford.

Let us not leave out my kindred, Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, who is in the Peerage. She may be kin to the Hart sisters and Princess Diana. Surely my late sister, the artist known as ‘Rosamond’, and Liz would like to be in the Windsor Family Tree. Liz could have starred as Fair Rosamond – and Jeannette Hart! This is an epic story.

Jon Presco

Copyright 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blenheim_Palace

http://video.answers.com/the-legend-of-henry-ii-and-fair-rosamund-311408723

http://paradise7.hubpages.com/hub/Rosamunds-Labyrinth

Henrietta, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough

During the war, the 1st Duke of Marlborough lost his beloved son and heir to smallpox. His wife was beside herself with grief. After Marlborough’s son had died, an Act of Parliament established that in the event of a lack of a male heir the title would go through the female line. Marlborough’s eldest daughter Henrietta therefore inherited the title on her father’s death. Henrietta died without a male heir so the title went to the family of her sister Anne. By the time Henrietta died Anne was also dead so the title went to Anne’s eldest remaining son Charles Spencer, who became the 3rd Duke in 1733. This meant that the Churchill name was now lost. It was brought back to the family by the 5th Duke who, by royal licence, was allowed to add Churchill to his name Spencer. Since then the family has been Spencer-Churchill. Charles Spencer had a younger brother John who remained at Althorp. From him the Earls of Spencer descend, and Lady Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales, was therefore a direct descendent of the 1st Duke of Marlborough.

“Fair Rosamund’s Well” in the park at Blenheim Palace, is named for a mistress of Henry II. The well is certainly in one of the classiest locations I’ve visited, being just down from the Grand Bridge across the lake from the house. You don’t need to pay for entrance to the house – “House and Gardens” means the formal gardens, and whilst the house is certainly worth a visit, just paying for the grounds is much cheaper.

The simplest way to find the well is to enter by the pedestrian entrance in the centre of Woodstock. This is hidden at the end of the street, past The Bear, whose lunches are excellent, if expensive, and Saint Mary Magdalene’s church, which is also worth a visit. From the entrance, walk along the metalled path round the lake until you reach the Great Bridge. If the weather is wet, you’ll be able to identify another spring in the bank on your right near the little house. Water from this seems to travel under the path and well up to flood the grass on the left.

Once you reach the bridge, face it and look to your right. Pick your way down the bank. Walk about a hundred yards along the edge of the lake and you’ll find it easily. If you know what to look for, you can just see the well from the house; certainly there’s a beautiful view of the house and bridge from the area of the well.

The well is a spring that issues into a large shallow cistern with formal flagstones around the edge, reminiscent of Cerne although significantly larger. Whilst the flags may be part of Capability Brown’s designs, an earlier sketch implies an enclosure and that the well may have been used for curative purposes in the past – certainly the water has. The well is fenced and the gate is kept locked, but with a little ingenuity it’s possible to photograph it without the fence intruding. The overflow is via an underground pipe into the lake.

“Fair Rosamund” was Rosamund de Cllifford, born about 1140, died 1175 or 1176. She was probably the daughter of Walter de Clifford of the family of Fitz-Ponce and may well have been born near Hay-on-Wye. There are accounts from 1165/6 for building work for enclosing the spring. At the time it was known as Everswell, quite possibly because the local legend says that (unusually for the area) the spring runs freely even in dry weather, enhancing its reputation for curative waters. The name “Rosamund’s Well” is not mentioned until the sixteenth century, although the structures around the spring were known as “Rosamund’s Chamber” as early as the thirteenth.

This sketch (Bodleian Library ms Wood 276b f43v) by John Aubrey denotes the area as “Rosamund’s Bower”. It dates from before the landscaping and his annotations indicate the ruins of a “noble” gatehouse or tower at the top right, with a path leading to the “Three Baths in Trayne” (originally he marked them as ponds but later changed his mind) in the centre. To the right is another pond in the court, and to the left a number of ruined walls. Marked along the wall leading to the left of the spring are two small niches and a seat. The whole area of the sketch is shown as being about 100 by 140 paces.

I’m not expert landscape archæologist, but from the position of the wall behind the existing bath or cistern (visible both in my picture and this old postcard), I’d say this was the enclosed one at the top of the sketch, the other two and the remaining pond having been obliterated by the later landscaping. The well has obviously been a tourist attraction for some time, as the postcard shows. One would be tempted to suggest that the connection with Rosamund was dreamed up for early tourists, but clearly the enclosure around the spring has been connected with her for much longer. She would certainly have had a fine view across the grounds from the seat. Locals have told me that a few years ago one could buy “Fair Rosamund Water” in bottles. Perhaps you still can, although with a little enterprise and a jar on a string, you could just raise some from the outflow.

The Spencer family is one of Britain’s most illustrious aristocratic families. This noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer (died c. 1478), male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer. Two prominent members of the family were Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales. The descent of the family from the Medieval Despencers has been challenged, especially by Horace Round in his essay The Rise of the Spencers. The Spencers were granted a coat of arms in 1504 which bears no resemblance to that used by the family after c. 1595, which was derived from the Despencer arms. Round believed that the Despencer descent was fabricated by Richard Lee, a corrupt Clarencieux King of Arms.[1] The Spencer claim to be descendants of the Despencer family can neither be proven beyond reasonable doubt, nor disproved.

The Spencers started out as sheep farmers in pre-Tudor times but rose to opulent prominence during the 16th century where it was said that Lord Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer of Wormleighton, was reputed to be the richest man in England upon the ascension of King James I to the English throne. This humble origins of the Spencers once caused a heated exchange of words between wealthy yet then-upstart Spencers with the more established Howards who had been the Earls of Arundel since the 12th century. During a warm debate in the House of Peers, Lord Spencer was speaking something in the house that their great ancestors did, when suddenly the Earl of Arundel cuts him off and then said “My Lord, when these things you speak of were doing, your ancestors were keeping sheep”. Lord Spencer then instantly replied, “When my ancestors as you say were keeping sheep, your ancestors were plotting treason.”

The Spencers later joined the Churchills upon the marriage of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and Lady Anne Churchill, daughter of the most celebrated Duke of Marlborough. From them descends the current line of the Spencer family which was divided into two branches. The senior line are currently the ducal line of the Spencer family who holds the Dukedom of Marlborough. The 5th Duke of Marlborough later changed their surname to Spencer-Churchill to emphasize their descent from the first duke. The junior line are currently the comital branch of the family who holds the title Earl Spencer.

The comital branch of the Spencer family can trace their ancestry to most of Britain’s nobility as well as to most of Europe’s royal houses. The Spencers are direct descendants albeit illegitimate of the House of Stuart, with the family boasting at-least five line of direct descendancy from the Stuarts, and from them, the Spencers can trace their ancestry to other royal houses such as the Bourbons, the Medicis, the Wittelsbachs, the Hanovers, the Sforzas, and the Habsburgs. More-so, the Spencers are one of the very few British noble families to be the heirs body of a once sovereign family, being the senior female-line descendants of John Churchill, the once sovereign Prince of Mindelheim.

The Maze and Grail At Blenheim Palace

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Royal Rosamond Press

The estate given by the nation to Marlborough for the new palace was the manor of Woodstock, sometimes called the Palace of Woodstock, which had been a royal demesne, in reality little more than a deer park. Legend has obscured the manor’s origins. King Henry I enclosed the park to contain the deer. Henry II housed his mistress Rosamund Clifford (sometimes known as “Fair Rosamund”) there in a “bower and labyrinth”; a spring where she is said to have bathed remains, named after her. It seems the unostentatious hunting lodge was rebuilt many times

The Spencer family is one of Britain’s most illustrious aristocratic families. This noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer (died c. 1478), male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer. Two prominent members of the family were Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Spencers later joined the Churchills upon the marriage of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and Lady Anne Churchill, daughter of the most celebrated Duke of Marlborough. From them descends the current line of the Spencer family which was divided into two branches. The senior line are currently the ducal line of the Spencer family who holds the Dukedom of Marlborough. The 5th Duke of Marlborough later changed their surname to Spencer-Churchill to emphasize their descent from the first duke. The junior line are currently the comital branch of the family who holds the title Earl Spencer.

The comital branch of the Spencer family can trace their ancestry to most of Britain’s nobility as well as to most of Europe’s royal houses. The Spencers are direct descendants albeit illegitimate of the House of Stuart, with the family boasting at-least five line of direct descendancy from the Stuarts, and from them, the Spencers can trace their ancestry to other royal houses such as the Bourbons, the Medicis, the Wittelsbachs, the Hanovers, the Sforzas, and the Habsburgs. More-so, the Spencers are one of the very few British noble families to be the heirs body of a once sovereign family, being the senior female-line descendants of John Churchill, the once sovereign Prince of Mindelheim.

Children of Winston Churchill and Mary Caroline d’Erlanger
Lieutenant Randolph Leonard Churchill+1 b. 22 Jan 1965
Jennie Spencer Churchill+1 b. 25 Sep 1966
Marina Spencer Churchill+1 b. 11 Sep 1967
John Gerard Averell Spencer-Churchill+1 b. 27 Aug 1975

http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/ml/ml22.htm

The remains of the medieval Woodstock Palace were cleared in 1705 to build Blenheim Palace, designed by John Vanbrugh for the first Duke of Marlborough after his victory against the French at the battle of Blenheim in 1704. The beautiful Marlborough Maze, which ingeniously incorporates cannonballs, trumpets and flags inspired by Grinling Gibbons’s Panoply of Victory roof carvings, was opened in 1991. It also includes a V sign in honour of Winston Churchill, who was born at the palace. According to the head gardener, Hilary Wood, it takes six people with hedge trimmers a week to prune the maze’s two miles of tapered yew hedges every October.

CHAPTER XIX
THE BOWER OF “FAIR ROSAMOND”
THE story of “Fair Rosamond” and her mazy Bower, though it cannot lay claim to that standard of authenticity which is generally required of historical data, has for so long occupied an honoured position in the realm of popular romance that, in a book professing to treat of mazes from a broad point of view, we cannot dismiss it quite as briefly as we might perhaps do in a book on English history.

“Fair Rosamond” has been stated, without very much foundation, to have been the daughter of Walter de Clifford, and is in consequence frequently referred to as Rosamond Clifford.

The story runs that King Henry the Second (A.D. 1133 to 1189) adopted her as his mistress, and that, in order to conceal his illicit amours from his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, he conducted them within the innermost recesses of a most complicated maze which he caused to be made in his park at Woodstock. Rumours of her spouse’s defections having reached the ears of Queen Eleanor, that indignant lady contrived to penetrate the labyrinth, confronted her terrified and tearful rival, and forced her to choose between the dagger and the bowl of poison; she drained the latter and became forthwith defunct.

Various trimmings, more or less scandalous in nature,

p. 165

gathered around the central tale, as, for instance, that Rosamond presented Henry with the son who was afterwards known as William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, but the main outline as indicated above was handed down intact for many generations.

The poisoning incident is not mentioned in the account given by a chronicler of that time, John Brompton, Abbot of Jervaulx (Yorks). It seems to have been first recorded by a French scribe in the fourteenth century.

Brompton’s version, given under the year 1151 in his “Chronicon,” is as follows:

“Sane idem rex Henricus quanquam multis virtutibus fuerat ornatus, aliquibus tamen viciis involutus personam regiam deturpavit. In libidine namque pronus conjugalem modum excessit. Regina enim sua Elianora jamdudum incarcerata factus est adulter manifestus, palam et impudice puellam retinens Rosamundam. Huic nempe puellae spectatissimae fecerat rex apud Wodestoke mirabilis architecturae cameram operi Daedalino similem, ne forsan a regina facile deprehenderetur. Sed ilia cito obiit, et apud Godestowe juxta Oxoniam in capitulo monialium in tumba decenti est sepulta, ubi talis suprascriptio invenitur:

“Hic facet in tumba Rosa mundi, non Rosa munda;
Non redolet, sed olet, quae redolere solet.”

It would appear from this account that the “bower” was a labyrinth of an architectural kind, perhaps like that mentioned in Chapter XIV as having been built at Ardres by Louis of Bourbourg in the previous century, not, as popularly believed, a maze of evergreens. It will be seen, also, that Henry did not long enjoy his clandestine delights, for Rosamond shortly died and was buried before the high altar of the nunnery church of Godstowe. Her death is believed to have taken place about 1176. It is possible that she had entered the nunnery some time