Alice Perrers Perrers possessed the manor of Gaynes (at Upminster) in Essex, the manor in which she would die. When property disputes arose with the abbot of St. Albans in 1374, Alice, with the King's authority behind her, had the temerity to sit in the law courts to intimidate the judges and ensured that the abbot abandoned his claim due to the overwhelming power she possessed. Prior to King Edward III's death, few had prosecuted or challenged her, but that changed in 1376, when Alice was subjected to an ordinance that set penalties for all women (but specifically against her) who practiced
English and British royal mistress English and British royal mistress In the English court, a royal mistress was a woman who was the lover of the King. She may have been taken either before or after his accession to the throne. Although it generally is only used of females, by extrapolation, the relation can cover any lover of the monarch whether male or female. To date no English reigning Queen is known to have had a lover. Monarchs had an incentive to take mistresses in that they generally made dynastic marriages of convenience, and there was often little love in them. Beyond the physical relationship,