LOL. Well, Hervey in general I feel was a switcher, depending on which relationship he was in. All the accounts of him, no matter whether hostile or approving, mention his, as we'd put it, genderfluidity and adaptability. He's also the one with actual relationship experience. (By which I don't mean has had sex; undoubtedly Fritz of Wales had a lot of sex at that point already. But Hervey is the one who conducted successful romances, one ongoing with Stephen Fox, and one with his eventual wife (which was a love match but where he's lost interest by now). He's also a good courtier, very responsive to what a royal wants and needs.
Fritz of Wales at this point in his life on the one hand is in a situation where he is in a new environment where he desperately wants to belong but is aware that none of his immediate family wants him to be there, so he wants affection and being taken care of; otoh, he also, being a future king (so he and everyone else think, not knowing the future), and in silent competition with younger brother whom Dad and Mom think would do a better job, wants to be taken seriously and seen as manly and able to dominate. So: I think emotionally for as long as the relationship is going well Hervey tops while making Fritz of Wales believe he, FoW, is in charge. If they did get physical, otoh, I think Hervey lets FoW top at first (to reassure him he's in charge) and then let him figure out that he actually wants to bottom and be taken care of.
Hervey and Stephen Fox: Stephen Fox tops. All of the letters I've seen quoted point towards that. Hervey early on was doing the chasing, but Fox was the one deciding when the relationship turned romantic and when it went from complete love affair back to friends with benefits. He also had a different political affiliation than Hervey and saw no reason to change that (though he did do the occasional favour, such as voting to keep Fritz of Wales' budget low in parliament), and managed to mostly keep out of all the court intrigue.
Hervey and Algarotti: Emotionally, Hervey tops. While everyone wanted Algarotti and Algarotti had his pick, Hervey from Algarotti's pov was the man with the connetions whom he hoped would get him a permanent good position at the English court. That Hervey, while being enchanted with Algarotti and fiercely competitive about him for a while with Lady Mary, did not actually do so might be due to class difference (Algarotti not yet being enobled by Fritz) or because he knew it would keep him having the upper hand because Algarotti still had incentive to keep trying. (Until Fritz of Prussia became King, of course.) Sexually, I think they were flexible enough to keep switching who tops and who bottoms.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-10-04 04:56 pm (UTC)Fritz of Wales at this point in his life on the one hand is in a situation where he is in a new environment where he desperately wants to belong but is aware that none of his immediate family wants him to be there, so he wants affection and being taken care of; otoh, he also, being a future king (so he and everyone else think, not knowing the future), and in silent competition with younger brother whom Dad and Mom think would do a better job, wants to be taken seriously and seen as manly and able to dominate. So: I think emotionally for as long as the relationship is going well Hervey tops while making Fritz of Wales believe he, FoW, is in charge. If they did get physical, otoh, I think Hervey lets FoW top at first (to reassure him he's in charge) and then let him figure out that he actually wants to bottom and be taken care of.
Hervey and Stephen Fox: Stephen Fox tops. All of the letters I've seen quoted point towards that. Hervey early on was doing the chasing, but Fox was the one deciding when the relationship turned romantic and when it went from complete love affair back to friends with benefits. He also had a different political affiliation than Hervey and saw no reason to change that (though he did do the occasional favour, such as voting to keep Fritz of Wales' budget low in parliament), and managed to mostly keep out of all the court intrigue.
Hervey and Algarotti: Emotionally, Hervey tops. While everyone wanted Algarotti and Algarotti had his pick, Hervey from Algarotti's pov was the man with the connetions whom he hoped would get him a permanent good position at the English court. That Hervey, while being enchanted with Algarotti and fiercely competitive about him for a while with Lady Mary, did not actually do so might be due to class difference (Algarotti not yet being enobled by Fritz) or because he knew it would keep him having the upper hand because Algarotti still had incentive to keep trying. (Until Fritz of Prussia became King, of course.) Sexually, I think they were flexible enough to keep switching who tops and who bottoms.
And now I'm prepared for the counterarguments. ;)