royal favorite
Monarch's preferred companion
A royal favorite is a person who enjoys special privilege and intimacy with a monarch, often wielding influence disproportionate to their official position.
Historically, royal favorites—sometimes lovers, sometimes merely companions—aroused jealousy at court and suspicion among nobles: The duke was the king's royal favorite and amassed enormous power.
The term often carries implications of favoritism undermining proper governance.
- chamberlainRoyal household administrator
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- confidantTrusted keeper of secrets
- mistressIllicit female lover
monarchy · intrigue · advisor · power behind the throne · aristocracy · noble birth · nepotism · court intrigue · alliance · hierarchy · favoritism · factionalism · Buckingham · corruption · Rasputin · betrayal · fall from grace · memoirs
royal favoriteelected official
Voter-chosen public servant
elected representative · meritocrat · self-made man · man of the people · people's choice
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