In the olden days when Kings and Queens ruled the world, or at least the most powerful nations in their time such as France, England, Spain, and other neighboring countries in Europe, the best way to gain success was through one skill: seduction.
The characters in a Palace do not stop with the Royal family alone. The picture would not be complete without those making the surrounding grand and festive, thus the constant presence of courtiers made up of ladies and gentlemen in waiting, on the beck and call of the King and Queen. With the state of the nation revolving around one man, the king, his favor was the only thing that mattered to gain advancement in ones stature.
King Henry VIII was known as the king with the most “legal” wives, not even mentioning his other string of ladies. His choices of women had no pattern or similarities but beauty alone. He was also a man of swinging moods. In some occasions he does not want to be declined in any way, but on other occasions he prefers to be challenged.
In King Henry VIII’s palace, gaining his favor was through winning his fancy. The ambitious families in his court that want to further uplift their stature in society groom and train their ladies to learn and practice the art of seduction. The women dance to the tune of seduction, taking one step forward, one step back, while fluttering their lashes and plastering a smile on their faces regardless of their real emotion.
Charm, wit, and self-control are the keys to capture and rapture. It requires a lot of hard work and self-sacrifice to cover up true feelings and convince the crowd of ones happiness, but what is at stake are estates, titles, and higher ranks for the whole family, all of which can benefit generations of members to be born. Forgetting ones self for the duration of courtship is essential to maximize the attention of power.
The length of the dance with the king depended on how long the ladies could enthrall the king with their humor, talent, and beauty. The name of the seduction game was to keep him longing and lusting for ones presence. With the many ladies in waiting from other families as determined, and with the straying eyes of the king, all the seduction tricks up a lady’s sleeve will surely run out in a span of years.
Family teamwork comes to play in the palace of seduction, where the charming ladies have to be lined up like fresh vegetables, ready to take the place of a sister or a cousin beside the king to represent their family ones the current one has lost her appeal. The men on the other hand position the ladies to catch the kings eyes, lining them up and parading them like well-bred horses.
King Henry VIII led a kingdom where family values and morality had to be set aside for success. But in today’s society, the practice remains. The seduction dance continues around those that hold power, even if they don’t wear a crown.
