Jennie called him Charles. Winston, who adored him, called him Count Kinsky. Lord Randolph called him the best of friends, as did Bertie, the Prince of Wales.
Count Karl Rudolf Ferdinand Andreas Fürst Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, as he was formally known, was 25 years old when he burst into Jennie's life in the spring of 1883. She was 29. Charles had just moved to London as a diplomat attached to the Austrian Embassy--his father, Prince Ferdinand Kinsky, held vast estates in Austria and Bohemia, and the Kinsky horse stud supplied the Austrian cavalry.
Charles rode his own English-bred horse, Zoedone, in the Grand National steeplechase at Aintree that year, and won. It was an unheard-of feat, and he became a celebrity as a result, his face and exploits chronicled constantly in the British press. Charismatic, seductive, and compelling, Charles was accustomed to power and getting what he wanted.
For most of his life, what he wanted was Jennie.
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| Charles Kinsky, wearing his family's white and red silks, on Zoedone at Aintree, 1883. Credit: Getty Images. |
For more images from THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN, visit the Pinterest board behind the novel.
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