Emy Lyon (Emma Hamilton) was born into a poor and illiterate family on April 26, 1765.

At the age of twelve she was working as a maid and later she moved to London.

Then her first supporter emerged, Sir Featherstonhaugh, who took her to his country estate.

She was soon admired for her beauty, her grace and her indisputable power of seduction.

At one party, Emma met another aristocrat, Charles Greville (1749-1809).

Lord Greville introduced Emma to the painter George Romney, who was fascinated by her and made countless portraits where she was represented as Greek heroine.

When Greville’s financial situation became unsustainable, he sent her to Naples in 1786.

During her stay in Naples, the young woman met Charles’s uncle, Sir William Hamiltonthe famous British Ambassador in Naples and in 1791 Emma became Sir William’s wife.

She then begins her new life in Naples: he introduced her to Neapolitan society and, more importantly, to Greek and Roman culture. Emma soon learns to pose with undeniable grace for her famous performances, evenings where the young woman appears dressed in flowing robes and represents poses of classical statues and characters from Greek mythology.

Soon, Lady Hamilton became the most famous personage in Naples. Among her friends was Queen Maria Carolina, wife of Ferdinand IV of Naples and Goethe.

The marriage went well, despite the considerable age difference (Lord Hamilton was sixty-one years old and Emma was twenty-six) when Emma met Lord Nelson in 1798, the famous admiral, the hero of Trafalgar and became his lover, and a special menage à trois was formed.

In 1801, Emma gave birth to Horatia, Nelson’s illegitimate daughter, but in 1805 the hero of Trafalgar died. Emma Hamilton was left alone. Hamilton also had died in 1803.