A right royal sex chair! Channel 4 series unpacks the fruity piece of furniture built for Edward VII after he gained too much weight to perform
Over the centuries, the British royal family has been embroiled in countless scandals that have shocked the nation, but even the most devoted royal watchers may be unaware of the pleasure-seeking prince and his sex chair.
A new Channel 4 series airing on Tuesday evening examines the unique piece of furniture that was specially designed for lovelorn Prince Bertie in the late 19th century, before he became King Edward VII in 1901.
In A History of Royal Scandals, historian and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explains that Bertie – Queen Victoria’s eldest son – was ‘married off’ to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863.
After having six children together, Alexandra’s health deteriorated and she ‘settled for a quiet family life in the countryside’, while Bertie, also known as Dirty Bertie by the tabloids of the time and by Edward de Caresser, moved to France left and ‘soon became a magnet for the capital’s courtesans’.
Suzannah reveals Bertie visited Parisian brothels and Moulin Rouge sex shows with ‘gay abandon’.
King Edward VII in coronation regalia in 1902. His waist shortly before his coronation was 48 inches (122 cm)
Queen Victoria with the future King Edward VII and his bride, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, on the day of their wedding in 1863
The playboy prince ordered a ‘siège d’amour’ or a love seat so he could perform despite his growing waistline
Historian Catharine Arnold describes his visits to the Moulin Rouge music hall, where his nickname “Kingy!”
The dancer ‘La Goulue’ often shouted to him from the stage: ‘Ello, Wales! Are you going to pay for my champagne?’
But when his performance could no longer match his carnal appetite, Queen Elizabeth II’s great-grandfather Bertie commissioned what became known as the ‘siège d’amour’ (‘love seat’).
The chair was built by Louis Soubrier – a famous Parisian carpenter – for when Bertie went to visit a top brothel in the City of Love after gaining enormous weight.
In an excerpt from the program, Catharine says to Suzannah, “It appears it was built to handle its considerable size.”
The love seat is complete with stirrups to hold the legs of not one but two sexual partners, allowing the playboy prince to have sex with multiple women without crushing them.
Catharine discusses the logistics of the unusual piece of furniture: ‘One idea is that a woman lies down and Bertie then braces herself on the stairs.
“Another woman would lie on a cushion underneath, and her role would be what they call in the adult entertainment industry – a fluffer.
‘By the time this came into use, Bertie was not only fat, but was heading towards impotence, so he needed a refreshment now and then.’
She adds: ‘Bertie’s ‘never say die’ attitude makes you proud to be truly British.”
On the logistics of the unusual piece of furniture, historian Catharine Arnold says: ‘One idea is that a woman lies down and Bertie then braces herself on the stairs. Another woman would lie on a cushion underneath, and her role would be what they call in the adult entertainment industry a fluffer.”
He came to the throne in 1901 and at his coronation in 1902, King Edward VII made sure to reserve a pew in Westminster Abbey solely for his ‘special ladies’.
Summing up his place in history, Suzannah says: ‘Bertie’s antics left many onlookers questioning his ability to rule.
But when Queen Victoria died in 1901 and he finally ascended the throne as Edward VII in 1901, he threw himself into the role with gusto and truly excelled as a monarch.
“As a husband, however, he remained deeply disappointing,” Suzannah notes in the new series.
At his coronation in 1902, King Edward, who was then 60 years old, made sure to reserve a pew in Westminster Abbey solely for his ‘special ladies’.
At the time, Edward had an impressive 48 inch waist and ate five meals every day, most of which were ten courses.
Although the original siège d’amour is believed to have been sold at a private auction to an anonymous buyer in the 1990s, a replica of the love seat was featured in the Musée’s ‘Splendor and Misery: Images Of Prostitution 1850-1910’ exhibition D’Orsay in Paris between 2015 and 2016.
Another example of the chair can be found in the Sex Machines Museum in Prague.
A history of royal scandals is presented by historian Professor Suzannah Lipscomb
In the six-part series A History of Royal Scandals, Suzannah delves deep into Britain’s extensive royal history to reveal more about the scandals we think we already know about, and perhaps uncover some shocking new ones along the way.
In a year in which speculation about the private lives of the current royal family has reached a fever pitch, Suzannah discovers that intrigue and fascination with what goes on behind the palace gates is certainly not a modern phenomenon.
Tuesday’s episode focuses in particular on sex scandals, and alongside Prince Bertie’s sex chair, Suzannah investigates how rumors of sexual indiscretions were used to attack a formidable medieval queen and still follow her centuries later.
It is also being investigated whether 13-year-old King James VI of Scotland was cared for by his 37-year-old uncle, Esme Stewart.
Watch A History of Royal Scandals on More4 on Tuesdays at 9pm.