Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, was a politician, and favourite of King James VI and I.
Portrait of Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset by John Hoskins
Portrait of James by Nicholas Hilliard, from the period 1603–1609
Portrait of Frances Howard by William Larkin, c. 1615
A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was especially a phenomenon of the 16th and 17th centuries, when government had become too complex for many hereditary rulers with no great interest in or talent for it, and political institutions were still evolving. From 1600 to 1660 there were particular successions of all-powerful minister-favourites in much of Europe, particularly in Spain, England, France and Sweden.
Equestrian portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares by Diego Velázquez.
The Duke of Buckingham by the workshop of Rubens
Cardinal Richelieu, one of the most successful from the golden age of the favourite
Prince Grigory Potemkin