 Several favourites had sexual relations with the monarch (or the monarch's spouse), but the feelings of the monarch for the favourite ran the gamut from a simple faith in the favourite's abilities to various degrees of emotional affection and dependence, and sometimes even encompassed sexual infatuation.The term has an inbuilt element of disapproval and is defined by the "Oxford English Dictionary" as "One who stands unduly high in the favour of a prince", citing Shakespeare