"Hugh Noel Williams (1870–1925), Charles had not arrived at The Hague until the middle of September 1648 – seven months before the child's birth (but he met Lucy for the first time nine months before) — and some unfounded voices whispered that Lucy Walter had in the summer of 1648 been mistress of Colonel Robert Sidney, a younger son of the Earl of Leicester. When the child grew to manhood, contemporaries observed that he bore a strong resemblance to Sidney. The unfounded voices had probably originated from the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II, who was afraid of"
"Lucy Walter Lucy Walter or Lucy Barlow (c. 1630 – 1658) was a Welsh mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. She is believed to have been born in 1630 or a little later at Roch Castle near Haverfordwest, Wales into a family of middling gentry. The question of whether King Charles had secretly married Lucy Walter was raised during the Exclusion Crisis, when a Protestant faction wished to make her son the heir to the throne, while the king denied any marriage, and supported the claim of his brother, the"
"Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (September 1649 – 14 November 1734) was a mistress of Charles II of England. Through her son by Charles II, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, she is ancestress of both wives of Prince Charles: Lady Diana Spencer and Camilla Shand. Louise was the daughter of Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kérouaille (d. 1690) and his wife (married on 27 February 1645) Marie de Ploeuc de Timeur (d. January 1709), paternal granddaughter of René de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kérouaille et Villeneuve, and his wife (married"
"died in Paris on 14 November 1734, aged 85. Some of Louise's descendants, Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, would eventually play major roles in the lives of later princes of the United Kingdom: Charles, Prince of Wales, Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (September 1649 – 14 November 1734) was a mistress of Charles II of England. Through her son by Charles II, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of"
"Moll Davis Mary ""Moll"" Davis (also Davies or Davys; ca. 1648 – 1708) was a seventeenth-century entertainer and courtesan, singer, and actress who became one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England. Davis was born around 1648 in Westminster and was said by Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist, to be ""a bastard of Collonell Howard, my Lord Barkeshire"" – probably meaning Thomas Howard, third Earl of Berkshire, although her parentage has also been attributed to Robert's older brother Charles, the second Earl. During the early 1660s she was an actress in the 'Duke's Theatre Company' and boarded"
"Peterborough, and created Earl of Monmouth (in 1689). The marriage was, however, kept secret until May 1680. They had three children: Carey Fraser Carey Mordaunt (""née"" Fraser), Countess of Peterborough and Monmouth (13 May 1709), was an English courtier. She was a maid of honour to Charles II's queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, from 1674 to 1680, and one of the Hampton Court Beauties painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary II. Her father was Sir Alexander Fraser, 1st Baronet, of Durris in the County of Kincardine (1607–1681), physician to Charles II, and her mother was Mary Carey, daughter"
"heir to the throne). Monmouth's rebellion failed, at least in part because he could not produce evidence to support his legitimacy, and Lucy is usually considered by historians to be a royal mistress rather than a secret wife. Charles was succeeded by his younger brother James II, who may have had as many as eleven mistresses. He did not follow the accepted standard of beauty of the time: while his contemporaries sought out heavy-set, voluptuous women on the Baroque model, James was attracted to skinny, boyish young girls in their teens. He was a Catholic, and his brother Charles II"
"marriages were alleged. Hence the Monmouth Rebellion when James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth claimed the thrones of England and Scotland on the grounds that his mother had been the wife, rather than a mistress, of Charles II. Royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or an heir apparent. Some mistresses have had considerable power; such mistresses have sometimes been referred to as the ""power behind the throne"". The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of"
"Catherine FitzCharles Catherine FitzCharles, born in 1658, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles II of England and his mistress, Catherine Pegge. Her older brother by one year, Charles FitzCharles, was made the 1st Earl of Plymouth by his father. Little is known about Catherine's life, but she is thought to have become a Benedictine nun at in Dunkirk, France, like many other highborn Englishwomen during the reign of Charles II. She is believed to have resided there under the religious name, Sister Ophelia, until her death in 1759 at the impressive age of 101. However, the shockingly small amount of"
"Sophie Dawes, Baronne de Feuchères Sophie Dawes (c. 1795 – 1840), ""Baronne"" (Baroness) ""de Feuchères"" by marriage, was an English ""adventuress"" best known as a mistress of Louis Henry II, Prince of Condé. She was born at St Helens, Isle of Wight, the daughter of an alcoholic fisherman named Richard Daw (or Dawes). She grew up in the workhouse at Newport and after a short period of employment with a local farmer worked as a chambermaid in Portsmouth, then went to London where she worked as a servant in a high-class brothel on Piccadilly. There, she eventually met the exiled"
"Wallmoden returned to Hanover. She died on 19 or 20 October 1765 from breast cancer, aged 61. Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth Amalie Sophie Marianne von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth, born Amalie von Wendt (1 April 1704 – 19 or 20 October 1765) was the principal mistress of King George II from the mid-1730s until his death in 1760. Born into a prominent family in the Electorate of Hanover, and married into another, in 1740 she became a naturalised subject of Great Britain and was granted a peerage for life, with the title of ""Countess of Yarmouth"", becoming the"
"information available about Catherine FitzCharles leads some to conclude that Catherine died in infancy or early childhood instead. Catherine FitzCharles Catherine FitzCharles, born in 1658, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles II of England and his mistress, Catherine Pegge. Her older brother by one year, Charles FitzCharles, was made the 1st Earl of Plymouth by his father. Little is known about Catherine's life, but she is thought to have become a Benedictine nun at in Dunkirk, France, like many other highborn Englishwomen during the reign of Charles II. She is believed to have resided there under the religious name, Sister"
"Duchess of Cleveland in her own right By Nell Gwyn (1650–1687) By Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille (1649–1734), created Duchess of Portsmouth in her own right (1673) By Mary 'Moll' Davis, courtesan and actress of repute Other probable mistresses: Letters claiming that Marguerite or Margaret de Carteret bore Charles a son named James de la Cloche in 1646 are dismissed by historians as forgeries. Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, and king of"
"an attempt to assassinate both Charles and James, Monmouth went into self-imposed exile in the Netherlands, and gathered supporters in The Hague. Monmouth was a Protestant and had toured the South West of England in 1680, where he had been greeted amicably by crowds in towns such as Chard and Taunton. So long as Charles II remained on the throne, Monmouth was content to live a life of pleasure in Holland, while still hoping to accede peaceably to the throne. The accession of James II and coronation at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685 put an end to these hopes."
"Charlotte FitzRoy, Countess of Yarmouth Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria FitzRoy, Countess of Yarmouth ( – 28 July 1684) was one of the many acknowledged illegitimate children of Charles II of England. Her mother, Elizabeth Killigrew Boyle, wife of Francis Boyle (afterwards Viscount Shannon in Ireland), had been a maid of honour to Charles II's mother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Charlotte married firstly James Howard, with whom she had a daughter, Stuarta. In 1672 she married William Paston, later the second Earl of Yarmouth, a member of the Paston family, and had issue. Both William and his father were in high favour"
"Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth Amalie Sophie Marianne von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth, born Amalie von Wendt (1 April 1704 – 19 or 20 October 1765) was the principal mistress of King George II from the mid-1730s until his death in 1760. Born into a prominent family in the Electorate of Hanover, and married into another, in 1740 she became a naturalised subject of Great Britain and was granted a peerage for life, with the title of ""Countess of Yarmouth"", becoming the last royal mistress to be so honoured. She remained in England until the death in 1760 of"
"Catherine Pegge Catherine Pegge, born about 1635, was a long term mistress of Charles II. She had two children by him, Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth and Catherine FitzCharles. Catherine was the daughter of Thomas Pegge of Yeldersley, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and wife Catherine Kniveton, daughter of Sir Gilbert Kniveton, Baronet, and wife. Thomas and his family were exiled to Bruges during the English Civil War following his capture serving under the Royalist Colonel General Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough. It was in Bruges that Catherine's liaison with Charles II began, resulting in the birth of her son in 1657"
"were condemned to death or transportation. James II was able to consolidate his power and reigned until 1688, when he was overthrown in a ""coup d'état"" by William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution. Monmouth was an illegitimate son of Charles II. There had been rumours that Charles had married Monmouth's mother, Lucy Walter, but no evidence was forthcoming, and Charles always said that he only had one wife, Catherine of Braganza. Monmouth had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English Army by his father in 1672 and Captain general in 1678, enjoying some successes in the Netherlands in the Third"
"Carey Fraser Carey Mordaunt (""née"" Fraser), Countess of Peterborough and Monmouth (13 May 1709), was an English courtier. She was a maid of honour to Charles II's queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, from 1674 to 1680, and one of the Hampton Court Beauties painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary II. Her father was Sir Alexander Fraser, 1st Baronet, of Durris in the County of Kincardine (1607–1681), physician to Charles II, and her mother was Mary Carey, daughter of Sir Ferdinando Carey and Philippa Throckmorton. In 1678 she married Charles Mordaunt, 2nd Viscount Mordaunt (1658–1735), later 3rd Earl of"
"Lady Susan Vane-Tempest Susan Charlotte Catherine, Lady Adolphus Vane-Tempest (7 April 1839 – 6 September 1875), born Lady Susan Charlotte Catherine Pelham-Clinton, was a British noblewoman and one of the mistresses of King Edward VII of England when he was Prince of Wales. Lady Susan was a bridesmaid to Victoria, Princess Royal and two years later became the wife of Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest. She took the Prince as her lover in about 1864 following her husband's death, and allegedly gave birth to his illegitimate child in 1871. Lady Susan was born on 7 April 1839, the only daughter of British"
"in increasing his own standing with Charles II. He hoped she would replace the king's current mistress, Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. Hortense was willing to try. In 1675, she travelled to London under the pretext of a visit to her young niece, Mary of Modena, the new wife of Charles II's younger brother, James, Duke of York. She was dressed as a man; her penchant for cross-dressing is thought to be an outward expression of her bisexuality. By mid-1676, Hortense had fulfilled her purpose; she had taken the place of Louise de Kerouaille in Charles's affections. He provided"
"Lady Mary Tudor Lady Mary Tudor (16 October 1673 – 5 November 1726) was a natural daughter of King Charles II of England by his mistress, Mary ""Moll"" Davies, an actress and singer. On 18 August 1687, Lady Mary married Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (9 December 1655 – 29 April 1705) by whom she had four children: Mary separated from Lord Derwentwater in 1700, reportedly due to her unwillingness to convert to Roman Catholicism. On 23 May 1705, shortly after Lord Derwentwater's death, she married secondly, to Henry Graham. On 26 August 1707, after Graham's death, on 7"
"January 1707, she married thirdly, to Major James Rooke. Lady Mary died in Paris on 5 November 1726, aged 53. Lady Mary Tudor Lady Mary Tudor (16 October 1673 – 5 November 1726) was a natural daughter of King Charles II of England by his mistress, Mary ""Moll"" Davies, an actress and singer. On 18 August 1687, Lady Mary married Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (9 December 1655 – 29 April 1705) by whom she had four children: Mary separated from Lord Derwentwater in 1700, reportedly due to her unwillingness to convert to Roman Catholicism. On 23 May 1705,"
"his nephew's potential claim to the throne. Finally, in 2012, a DNA test conducted on Monmouth's descendant, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch, showed that he shared the same Y chromosome (inherited by son from father) as a distant Stuart cousin, providing strong evidence that Charles II was Monmouth's biological father after all. He had a younger sister Mary Crofts, who may also have been a daughter of Charles, although Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford is considered another potential father. Mary married the Irishman William Sarsfield and was a sister-in-law of the Jacobite general Patrick Sarsfield. As an illegitimate son,"
"took ownership, from whom Lucy Walter, mistress of King Charles II and mother of the Duke of Monmouth was descended. It was then owned by the families of the Paynters, Allens and Lloyds. Little remains of the original medieval castle and what there is was largely remodelled and incorporated into the present modern house and farm in 1910. In an illustration dating from around 1810, a rectangular battlemented tower is visible with a range of buildings with a hipped roof running to the west. Another illustration, this time from the 1880s, shows these buildings to have had three storeys and"
"dying in 1685, he asked for Catherine, but she sent a message asking that her presence be excused and ""to beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life."" He answered, ""Alas poor woman! she asks for my pardon? I beg hers with all my heart; take her back that answer."" Later in the same year, she unsuccessfully interceded with James II for the life of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Charles's illegitimate son and leader of the Monmouth Rebellion – even though Monmouth in rebellion had called upon the support represented by the staunch Protestants opposed"
"Mariana Koskull Henrietta Mariana ""Marianne"" Charlotta Koskull (19 February 1785, Växjö - 30 March 1841, Stockholm) was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting, known as the royal mistress of King Charles XIII of Sweden and King Charles XIV John of Sweden. Mariana, or ""Marianne"" as she was often called at the French-influenced court, was born to baron Gustaf Fredrik Koskull and Anna Charlotta Gjelstrup. Although the family belonged to the nobility, they were poor, which was illustrated by the fact that her sister Constance Koskull was forced to break her engagement to marry Christian Fredrik Damm, with whom she was in"
"the death of Charles II without legitimate issue in February 1685, the Duke of York became king as James II in England and Ireland and James VII in Scotland. Mary was playing cards when her husband informed her of her father's accession, and that she was heir presumptive. When Charles's illegitimate son the Duke of Monmouth assembled an invasion force at Amsterdam, and sailed for Britain, William informed James of the Duke's departure, and ordered English regiments in the Low Countries to return to Britain. To William's relief, Monmouth was defeated, captured and executed, but both he and Mary were"
"the evidence that Anastasia, Countess of Peterborough and Monmouth, survived until 1755 and that the purported second marriage ceremony never took place in 1735. – historical fiction of Mordaunt's role in the Spanish War Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Earl of Monmouth, (1658 – 25 October 1735) was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Carey, the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth. Mordaunt's father, John Mordaunt, was"
"in Catherine's service until 1692, seven years after the death of King Charles. Winifred Wells Winifred Wells was a courtier at the Stuart Restoration court as a Maid of Honour to Queen consort Catherine of Braganza. She was also one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England. Samuel Pepys refers to her as the King's mistress in his diary, and she also features in Philibert de Gramont's famous ""Mémoirs"". Wells was born about 1642 as the youngest daughter of Gilbert Wells of Twyford, Hampshire. The Wells family members were staunch Royalists during the English Civil War. She"
"grandfather of Charles Darwin. Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, Countess of Portmore (21 December 1657 – 26 October 1717), daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, was the mistress of King James II and VII both before and after he came to the throne. Catherine was noted not for beauty but for her celebrated wittiness and sharp tongue. Catherine was the only legitimate child of the Restoration poet Sir Charles Sedley. Her mother was Lady Catherine Savage, daughter of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers. She grew up ""notoriously plain"" (brunette and thin rather than plump"
"5th Earl of Thanet but James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth proposed himself instead although he was already married. Lady Wentworth's mother swiftly brought her back to Toddington, but Monmouth followed her there and moved in with her. When Monmouth was implicated in the 1683 Rye House plot to kill King Charles II (Monmouth's illegitimate father) and the king's brother, Lady Wentworth joined him in exile to Holland and was received by the Prince of Orange as Monmouth's mistress. When Monmouth's uncle James II acceded to the English throne in 1685, the duke launched a rebellion that was financed in"
"of Charles II through his eldest but illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, himself a major political figure during the years leading up to the Glorious Revolution. As she was born on Christmas Day, she was given the middle name of Christabel. Alice spent much of her childhood travelling ""between splendid houses"": Boughton House in Northamptonshire, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bowhill in the Scottish Borders. Eildon Hall, in Melrose, Scottish Borders, was more or less home base. An experience of nearly drowning at the age of 14 awoke her to a keen sense of making"