Schulenburg, Ehrengard Melusina von der, duchess of Kendal

Schulenburg, Ehrengard Melusina von der, duchess of Kendal

(ā`rəngärt mālo͞ozē`nä fən dĕr sho͞o`lənbo͝orkh), 1667–1743, German mistress of George I of England. She became his mistress at the Hanoverian court and followed him to England c.1714. She exerted great influence over the king, but was unpopular with the English people because of her foreign birth and manners and the wealth she acquired through bribery and corrupt public transactions. She was created duchess of Kendal in 1719.