peeress

Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts (1480-1519)

according to legend she rode naked through Coventry in order to persuade her husband not to tax the townspeople so heavily; the only person to look at her as she rode by was a man named Tom and Peeping Tom has become a synonym for voyeur (circa 1040-1080)

English beauty who was the mistress of Admiral Nelson (1765-1815)

French consort of Louis XIV who secretly married the king after the death of his first wife (1635-1719)

French noblewoman who was mistress to Louis XIV until he became attracted to Madame de Maintenon (1641-1707)

French noblewoman who was the lover of Louis XV, whose policies she influenced (1721-1764)

a noblewoman who holds the rank of baron or who is the wife or widow of a baron

female equivalent of a count or earl

the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right

a lady appointed to attend to a queen or princess

a noblewoman ranking below a duchess and above a countess

an English noblewoman

the wife of a grand duke or a woman holding that rank in her own right