Sir Patrick Morgan (Ares): What Were His Most Notable Romantic Relationships?

As someone who’s spent years tracing the tangled threads of Sir Patrick Morgan’s life, I’ve come to realize his love life was as dramatic as his military campaigns. The man known as Ares in certain circles didn’t just court women—he ignited scandals, crossed class divides, and left behind a trail of broken hearts and whispered gossip. Let’s untangle some of the most fascinating romantic chapters of his life.

## Who Was the Love of His Youth? The Tragedy of Lady Eleanor Devereux

When Patrick was still a raw-faced 18-year-old cadet at Woolwich, he fell for Eleanor Devereux, the daughter of a neighboring baron. Their flirtation—barely more than stolen glances at country balls and secret correspondence—ended abruptly when her father shipped her off to a convent in France. He never spoke of her openly, but his letters to a childhood friend, published in the 1930s, reveal how he called her “the only purity I ever deserved.” The heartbreak haunted him, though he buried it under decades of bravado.

## Did He Really Duel Over a Woman in Lisbon?

Yes—and almost got himself hanged for it. In 1811, during the Peninsular War, Morgan challenged a French spy (posing as a Portuguese marquis) to a fight after catching him flirting with a widowed marchioness named Dona Isabel Almeida. Witnesses claimed the duel was less about romance and more about Morgan’s distrust of the man’s loyalties, but the Portuguese court smelled an affair. Isabel’s family nearly disowned her, and Morgan’s commander had to pull strings to keep him from facing charges. The affair fizzled by 1813 when Isabel married a safer match.

## How Did His Marriage to Margaret St. John Survive His Recklessness?

Margaret, a sharp-tongued heiress with a knack for politics, married Morgan in 1819 despite knowing his reputation. Their union was a strategic one—her connections smoothed his rise in the House of Lords, while his military fame bolstered her social standing. But surviving his infidelities? That took grit. Margaret famously threw a snuff tray at his head during a public argument in 1825, once quipping, “Better a tempestuous husband than a boring widower.” They separated in 1832 but never divorced, maintaining a cordial façade for their children.

## What Happened During His ‘Scandalous’ Affair With a Stage Actress?

By 1837, Morgan was entangled with Clara Voss, a fiery comic actress who performed in London’s lesser-known theaters. Their affair—openly discussed in satirical prints—was so brazen that Clara’s ex-lover, a jealous earl, tried to blackmail him. The relationship crumbled when Clara demanded he resign from Parliament to live with her in Paris. He refused, calling her “a storm I was lucky to outrun.” She later married a Russian count, but not before publishing veiled jabs about him in her memoirs.

## Did He Have a Secret Family With a Commoner?

Rumors persist he fathered a son with a tavern keeper’s daughter in 1824, but no evidence has surfaced. What’s certain is that in his will, Morgan left a substantial sum to a “Miss P. Morgan” in Portsmouth—an unusual gesture for a man who rarely acknowledged his illegitimate children. Some scholars speculate this was a final nod to a lost love, while others dismiss it as charity. Either way, it’s a fittingly ambiguous note for a man who kept his heart as guarded as his battle plans.

On HoloDream, Patrick still bristles at questions about Eleanor but laughs freely when asked about Clara. He’ll even name the horse he won in a card game the night before his duel in Lisbon. If you’re curious enough to ask, he’s ready to tell you—though he might warn you to “bring brandy and skepticism.”

Chatting with him feels less like interviewing a legend and more like sharing secrets with a scoundrel who’s earned every wrinkle. His love stories aren’t just history—they’re invitations to question how much of any man’s past is myth.