Sir Peter Lely

The works of Sir Peter Lely have long been my favourite Restoration, and whilst I love the work of Van Dyke and Kneller, I think Lely will always hold a special place in my heart. It probably has something to do with my long standing adoration of Charles II and the Restoration period, and the fact that this fabulous artist has painted some of the historical personages that I so admire. When I first heard about the exhibition at Hampton Court a while back, "The Wild, The Beautiful and The Damned", I knew I just had to go? Why? Because it would mean seeing some of Sir Peter Lely's most famous paintings in the flesh, which in all honesty was something I could never have imagined. Think of Sir Peter Lely and what do you think of? His portraits of Charles II, Nell Gwynne, John Wilmot Earl of Rochester? One of his most famous portraits if of Nell Gwynne as Venus, and one of my favourite paintings by him, so as I'm sure you can imagine actually physically seeing it was a bit of a moment for me.

Nell Gwynne as Venus by Sir Peter Lely

Born Pieter van der Faes in Soest (Westphalia, Northern Germany) on 14th September 1618, the little boy would grow up to be one of the greatest Restoration artists. The surname he used later in life, Lely, apparently came from the house where his father had been born which had a Lily on the emblem. Lely's father noticed early on that his son was more of an artist than a soldier and so sent him to study with an artist by the name of Frans Pieters de Grebber, an artist who is not so well known today.

Elisha Refused The Gifts of Naamen by Frans Pieters de Grebber

The young Lely studdied in Holland with Grebber and it must have proved to be a stimulating environment for the young man.

It is said that the young Lely came to England in either 1641 or 1642 although the exact reason for his move to England is not recorded. It's possible that he heard of other artists from his area prospering in England under the patronage of Charles I. Did he want to follow in their footsteps? When he first arrived in England it is rather hard to trace his exact whereabouts although it is possible that he worked for the art dealer George Geldorp who had come over from Antwerp in 1626 and was keeper of the King's pictures, and apparently kept a collection of works by Van Dyke (the man who painted the majority of paintings of Charles I). It has been noted that Lely painted in the style of Geldorp so it is really rather likely that he worked with Geldorp, and was introduced to Geldorps rich patrons.

In 1641, Van Dyke died and other famous portrait painters disappeared from the scene before the onset of the English Civil War or died soon after it's beginning. It was not until 1647 however that Lely began to practice his art independently when he was free of the Guild of Painters. He had previously made himself known with the Duke of Northumberland and Earl of Salisbury. These men were loyal to Charles I but hadn't followed the King to Oxford. In 1647, Charles I surrendered Oxford and was kept at Hampton Court  - his children James Duke of York and Minette were held at Syon Park by Northumberland. It was Northumberland who commissioned Lely to paint the now famous portrait of Charles I and James Duke of York. This portrait, next to Nell Gwynne is one of my favourites by Lely.

Charles I and the Duke of York by Sir Peter Lely

In 1554, five years after the execution of Charles I, Lely painted the famous portrait of Oliver Cromwell. It is said that as Cromwell sat for his portrait he said, "Mr Lely, I desire that you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all those roughnesses, pimples, warts and every thing as you see me, otherwise I will never pay you a farthing for it". Indeed, the portrait of Cromwell certainly shows a man who was painted "warts and all" and there have been those who have suggested that Lely painted it from an existing picture although Cromwell must have approved it for later on, Richard Cromwell also commissioned a portrait from him. 

When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, he was known as one of the best artists in England. And it wasn't long before he was getting work from those leading the Restoration including King Charles II himself. By 1662 he was a citizen of England and such a popular painter that he was having to employ assistants (something which a man playing Lely was keen to emphasise when I went to The Wild, The Beautiful and The Damned) and was expected to both paint the royal portraits and to provide gift copies. It should be noted that the copies of his work were done to such a high quality that they must have been done under his close supervision. Indeed, when Samuel Pepys visited Lely's studio for the first time, Lely was so busy that he thought Pepys had turned up to buy a copy of one of his portraits and told the diarist he was full booked up for the next three weeks; and in 1666 James Duke of York commissioned Lely to paint him as Lord High Admiral of the Navy. 

The works that Lely is most famous for has to be his "Windsor Beauties" - many of these can be seen hanging in the galleries of Hampton Court. Recently they were all on display at The Wild, The Beautiful and The Damned as a special exhibition and include such court beauties as Barbara Villiers, Frances Stuart and Elizabeth Hamilton. 

Barbara Villiers by Sir Peter Lely

Frances Stuart by Sir Peter Lely

Elizabeth Gramont by Sir Peter Lely

Indeed Sir Peter Lely was the man who created the famous "Restoration Image" and it is this for which he is most known. Think of Sir Peter Lely and you will immediately think of a portrait painted by him; indeed he is known for little else other than portraits. It must be noted however that Lely did indeed paint more than just portraits, for instance his little known The Concert which although unfinished is apparently meant to be a visualisation of Shakespeare's famous line, "If music be the fool of love, play on". Indeed, despite being unfinished, I feel there is something inherently magical about The Concert. 

Lely is not just famous for his royal portraits however. Some of his most beautiful works are indeed of non royals:

Portrait of a Boy by Sir Peter Lely

Sleeping Nymphs by Sir Peter Lely

The Concert by Sir Peter Lely

Sir Peter Lely was knighted in 1680, shortly before his death. It is said that he died at his easel whilst painting the Duchess of Somerset. Indeed, when he died he had become one of the most prominent artists of Charles II's reign and indeed would go down in history as one of the greatest artists of the Restoration. Indeed, many will recognise his works today, even without knowing who he was. And this has to be a great testament to his skill. Of course to art historians and lovers of the Restoration his work is like a much loved piece of furniture, something we would not do without. Although many of his portraits, particularly of the Windsor Beauties, look incredibly similar facially (it is said he used the same template for many of his portraits but rather changed the dress and backgrounds), I cannot help but love his work. Thanks to Lely, I have been able to connect to the Royalty of the Restoration, to the nobility and even to the famous mistresses of Charles II. And every time I look at his works be it online or in person, I marvel at his beautiful works. Thanks to Lely I was introduced to the Restoration, and for that I owe the man an infinite debt, and for that I will always appreciate his amazing artwork.

Queen Catherine of Braganza by Sir Peter Lely

James Duke of York and Anne Hyde by Sir Peter Lely

Nell Gwynne by Sir Peter Lely

Henrietta Anne "Minette" Stuart by Sir Peter Lely

Further Reading

Oliver Millar - Sir Peter Lely 1618-1680

The Great Artists Issue 69: Lely (link unavailable)

I Belong in Seventeenth Century England

I have wanted for the longest time to own a dress that would fit in at Charles II's Restoration Court but for a very long time the cost has put me off. Even when, for my sins, I was in the Sealed Knot I would gaze longingly at the dresses that were being sold at the stalls surrounded the make shift battlefield and wish I had enough money to get my grubby little mits on one of them.

And then a few weeks ago, I was derping around on the internet. And I found the perfect Restoration-Esque gown. And I had just been paid. And I just had to have it. So I brought it, for a little over £100.

And it was worth every single penny.

It took a while to arrive, but this morning there was a knock on the door and there it was.

Can I just say, I have no idea how women were able to breathe in the seventeenth century. I wasn't even wearing a shift or proper boned corset underneath and I was struggling to breathe. It wasn't even laced up to it's full potential! Plus, I can see why upper class women had maids to help them dress. It is really really REALLY hard to do the backs of these things on your own! I did the best I could but had to enlist the help of my partner when he got in from work.

The dress is just full of flounce and I adore it. And alright so it isn't made out of 100% accurate but it certainly looks the part. Obviously to go 100% accurate I would have to get out my sewing kit and start a brand new one from scratch with a seventeenth century pattern, a proper shift etc. But this one does a damn good job of making it look the part. The sleeves which can be seen above, in original dresses from the period those sleeves would have been part of the ladies undergarment but on this dress are attached. In a way I feel like I'm cheating but it really does look the business.

I'm sure many people could point out how it isn't accurate at all and blah blah blah because it's not made out of the right material and I'm not wearing a shift and a proper boned bodice and blah blah. But I love it, and it looks very similar to the gowns that the ladies were wearing around Hampton Court when I was last there aaaand the gowns worn in The Power & The Passion. And that, dear readers, is good enough for me.

I am planning on wearing this to the Kelmarsh Festival of History next year, so please do keep an eye out. That gives me a whole year to learn how to do my hair in the proper seventeenth century style. Like Minette...

Now then, if any one needs me I'll be back in 1660's Whitehall...

Did Charles II love Catherine of Braganza?

Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, a line engraving by an Unknown Artist

Before I get stuck into this post I just want to say a massive thank you to @gemgemgembird who runs the awesome fuckyeahcharlesii on tumblr and @IsSoFab for helping me out with this post, you guys are ace!!!

I've come across a few comments across various social media websites saying that Charles II did not love his wife Catherine of Braganza. But it's not just online where I have come across this, oh no, it's even crept into a few real life conversations as well. And the normal response when I ask these people why they think this is "oh well, he had loads of mistresses so he can't have loved her". Cue me almost frothing at the mouth for around three minutes, before trying not to launch myself into a massive lecture about how he did actually love her. And so today I decided that enough is enough, and thought I would sit down and write a blog about it, with lots and lots of examples that show that yes, Charles did love his wife and no, he wasn't a giant idiot to her...

So here goes!

The biggest thing that always, always gets to me and really points out how much he loved her is when she was unwell, and Charles got up to get her a bowl but she was sick in the sheets before he got back. Charles ended up cleaning her up himself and changing the sheets. Now, I am going to say something here - Charles could have just called for Catherine's servants but no, he did it himself. And you don't clean up someones sick unless you really love them surely? There is a fantastic quote about this incident in "The Mistresses of Charles II" by Brian Masters:

“On one occasion, she (Catherine) felt ill during the night when he was in bed with her. He got up to fetch her a basin, but she was sick in the sheets before he returned. Not until he had himself cleaned and dried her, and changed the sheets, did he call her women to help, and repaired to his own room, even then returning three times to see how she was before he finally went to sleep.”(Masters 1979, 75-76)

Another incident took part in 1663, when Catherine became seriously ill. So ill in fact that everyone thought she was dying. Charles sat by her bed for hours, in floods of tears, begging her not to die. Even when she sank into delirium he stayed by her side, and she imagined they had three children together. She also told him, when she had come around a bit, that he should take a more agreeable wife once she was dead. Yet Catherine recovered (HUZZAH!), and Charles' minister started to demand he divorce her because she was barren. Yet he refused and had a go at his ministers for even suggesting the idea, saying that he had treated her so poorly (i.e. with rubbing mistresses in her face) that he could now never abandon her. So the rumours that were flying about the court that Charles should marry Frances Stuart, who he was rather enamoured with at the time and spent his time chasing after her, were chucked out.

Charles also mentions Catherine A LOT in his letters, especially to his sister Minette and he also rather enjoys pointing out how much time he spent with his wife. And it was a lot of time...

“I have been all this afternoon playing the good husband, having been abroad with my wife, and ‘tis now past twelve o’clock, and I am very sleepy.” (Norrington 1994, 78)

 Charles II by Sir Peter Lely

There is also a rather moving letter written from Charles to his sister after his wife's illness. And although he does mention other women, and the fact that he's off to see another play, the majority of the letter is spent talking about Catherine:

My wife is now so well, as in a few days, she will thank you herself for the concern you had for her in her sickness. Yesterday we had a little ball in the privy chamber, where she looked on, and, though we had many of our good faces absent, yet I assure you, the assembly would not have been disliked for beauty, even at Paris itself, for we have a great many young women come up, since you were here, who are very handsome. Pray send me some images, to put in prayer books. They are for my wife, who can get none here. I assure you it will be a great present to her, and she will look upon them often, for she is not only content to say the great office every day, but likewise that of our Lady too, and this is besides going to chapel, where she makes use of none of these. I am just now going to see a new play, so I shall say no more, but that I am entirely yours, C.R.(Norrington 1994, 72)

 Catherine of Braganza by Sir Peter Lely

"Later that spring, Charles told Minette that he had been playing the good husband, going out with Catherine all afternoon: soon he would banish Edward Montagu from court for spending too long with the queen and even daring to squeeze her hand" (Uglow 2009, 267). This quote never fails to bring a smile to my face. I can imagine a rather red faced Charles facing off against Montagu, demanding that he leave court for daring to touch his wife. 

Another big incident in which Charles showed his loyalty, dedication and love for Catherine was during the Popish Plot of 1678. The Plot, completely fictitious, had been engineered by Titus Oates. It was said that it was a plot in which the Catholics would kill King Charles, and on 24th November 1678 Charles listened to Oates as he revealed that the Queen would poison her own husband! Charles of course knew that his wife would never ever try to poison him and throughout his entire meeting with Oates maintained a cool head. When Oates said he overheard the conspirators in the queens bedchambers (which he could even describe when asked to by the king!), Charles has him thrown into prison. Unfortunately Parliament had him released soon after. Antonia Fraser, in her biography of Charles II states that Oates made a big mistake in trying to implicate Catherine; "Yet Oates, in concentrating on the Queen, had touched on one of the King's few sensitive spots: he might have let Clarendon go without too much regret, and sacrifice Danby perforce, but as he had already shown over the prospect of divorce, Catherine was another matter" (Fraser, 1979, 363)

Titus Oates by an unknown artist

Catherine wrote a letter to her brother, the King of Portugal, which is really rather moving and said of the recent incident: "the care in which he (Charles) takes to defend my innocence and truth. Every day he shows more clearly his purpose and goodwill towards me, and thus baffles the hate of my enemies...I cannot cease telling you what I owe to his benevolence, of which each day he gives better proofs, either from generosity or compassion" (Fraser 1979, 363).

During the Popish Plot we see Charles come to the aid of his wife as her knight in shining armour. His actions drew them together and not only that, showed that he really did care despite his liaisons with his mistresses. And it seems that Catherine had fallen head over heels in love with Charles, as he had with her it seems, so much so that Lady Sutherland stated that the queen was "now a mistress, the passion her spouse has for her is now so great".

There are, I am sure, many other examples that show just how much Charles loved his wife and it's going to require a lot more research and reading to get to the bottom of this one. But before I conclude about how much I adore this pair and how I'm sure they were perfect for each other (just go with me here OK...?) there is just one last thing I want to quote regarding Charles' last meeting with Catherine before his death:

"There were a series of farewells. Catherine came. Charles greeted her lovingly. But her distress, both at the King's tenderness and at his suffering was too great. Tears overcame her. She was carried back to her own apartments, half fainting. She sent back a message to her husband to beg his pardon if she had ever offended him.

"Alas! poor woman", said the King. "She beg my pardon! I beg hers with all my heart" (Fraser 1979, 456)

As can be seen, I hope, from these few examples; Charles II really did love his wife. He may not have shown it in their early years of marriage and he may have rubbed his relationships with his mistresses in her face (I should mention the Bedchamber Incident here but that is a whole other post for a whole different day) yet they still grew incredibly close. Charles grew to love her, respect her and trust her intimately. He stayed by her side during her terrible illness, he begged her not to die, he wrote of her often to his sister Minette, he protected her and stood up for her during the Popish Plot, he spent vast amounts of time with her which was commented on a lot by other courtiers and he even conducted business in her chambers. Not to mention of course his final meeting with her which makes me cry every single time. So you see, is it any wonder when people turn around and say that Charles didn't love his wife because he had mistresses that I and so many others end up giving epic lectures on the subject? You only have to read of how he stood by her when Oates accused her of plotting the King's death to understand how he felt about her, you only have to read of how he refused to divorce her despite parliament trying to badger him into doing so to understand how he felt about her. 

Plus he cleaned up her vomit, and you don't do that for someone unless you really love them.

Sources and Further Reading

Fraser, A, 1979, King Charles II, Weidenfeld & Nicholson: London

Masters, B, 1979 The Mistresses of Charles II, Constable & Co: London

Norrington, R, 1994, My Dearest Minette, Peter Owen: London

Uglow, J, 2009, A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration, Faber & Faber: London

"Monsieur Is A Villain!"

Phillipe Duc D'Orleans

"Monsieur is a villain!" These are the words that Charles II is said to have shouted when he received the news of his sisters death. But why did he say those words? Rumours came from the French Court that Madame, Minette, had been poisoned by her husband Phillipe; and in a fit of grief and rage at the thought of this Charles locked himself away in his bedroom for 5 days.

Henrietta Anne "Minette" Stuart by Sir Peter Lely

So far, I haven't read too much about Minette and her life. But yesterday I finished the fantastic "My Dearest Minette" by Ruth Norrington and from reading it I have developed an immense dislike for Phillipe Duc d'Orleans, more commonly known as Monsieur.

Minette married Phillipe on 30th March 1661 but the marriage was not a happy one. It became more and more evident towards the end of Minette's life, especially when Monsieur began to spend more and more time with his favourite, the Chevalier de Lorraine. Monsieur and Lorraine were inseparable, and Monsieur ended up falling head over heels in love with him. It is said that the two were also sexually involved with each other, and Monsieur rather enjoyed showing his favourite off in front of his wife, and the court.

Phillipe, Chevalier De Lorraine

The relationship between the two men is what finally ruined the relationship between Minette and Monsieur. Previous to Lorraine showing up, Monsieur seems to have been at least a little bit interested in Minette, even doting on her in the first year of their marriage. But Monsieur would soon begin to show his true colours, becoming increasingly jealous of Minette and any relationships she developed with others. He believed that Minette was having an affair with Louis XIV, even going so far as to complain to his mother Queen Anne of Austria who reprimanded both Louis and Minette. It was also said that Minette began an affair with Phillipe's old lover the Comte De Guiche which sparked more jealousy from Monsieur. Not only that, but when Charles II sent his illegitimate son James, Duke of Monmouth, over to France in 1668; Phillipe began to grow very jealous of all the time that Minette was spending closeted away with her nephew. And Lorraine began to fan the flames, rumours sparking that something was going on between Minette and Monmouth. When Minette complained of Monsieur's behaviour towards her, his jealousy and his anger, Louis XIV reprimanded his brother and in anger Monsieur took Minette away from the court.

It is the events of 1669-70 that really made me dislike Monsieur. This ended up being the final year of Minette's life, and Monsieur's treatment of her just got worse and worse. After Madame de St. Chaumont was dismissed from court (she had been the governess of her children), Monsieur had his way in appointing her replacement. Minette wanted her friend Madame de La Fayette as the new governess but Monsieur appointed one of his minions, the Marechale de Clerembault. And at this point Lorraine began publicly bragging that he was the one responsible for getting rid of all of Minette's friends, and began to spread rumours that a divorce was on the cards for the couple. After Monsieur went to the King to beg that Lorraine be given the lands of a recently passed away friend, of which the King refused, Monsieur lost his temper. He ended up telling Lorraine what the King had said about him - that he was not a fit person to hold Church benefices - Lorraine made offensive remarks about the King. Of course at the French court news spread quickly and the news reached the King, who promptly dismissed the Chevalier in disgrace. Monsieur blamed his wife and began acting terribly towards her, even though she had very little to do with it. He refused to sleep with her, which of course caused huge scandal at court, and the two barely spoke. Was there violence? So far I have read nothing to suggest this but that's not to say there was none. And as the two spent their time away from court at Villers-Cotterets, Monsieur refused to return to court unless his favourite was restored. He was eventually persuaded to return, and Minette had a huge part to play in the negotiations between France and England.

Minette as Minerva, holding a portrait of Monsieur by Antoine Mathieu

When they returned, everyone noticed how pale and unwell Minette looked.

It was vitally important that Minette visit England to secure the secret treaty between the two countries and when it was mentioned to Monsieur he lost his temper, saying he would never let her go. Charles of course resented this behaviour hugely and his feelings were reported to Louis by the French Ambassador. It was the Ambassadors brother Jean Baptiste who persuaded Monsieur to let her go for a short visit as long as he went with her. Monsieur begrudgingly allowed her three days, but then began making a fuss and saying that he should go with her - Charles was the man to come up with best excuse to keep Monsieur out of England; it would be unseemly for Monsieur to go to England unless James Duke of York could visit the French King at the same time. Was it a coincidence that James could not go? Probably not.

When Minette returned to France on 3rd June (meeting with her husband on 18th June at St Germain - her journey had taken over two weeks!), relations with her husband were still very strained. When Minette met her husband and the King at St Germaine, he sulkily refused the offer for he and his wife to go and stay at Versailles. Upon her return she apparently looked stunningly beautiful but in reality she was very unwell and spent the day of her arrival in bed at St Germaine. Despite being most graciously received by the King, Monsieur really ruined her happiness by constantly reminding her that with her influence with the King, she could very easily get Lorraine recalled from his exile. And when, after the couple and their children had removed to St Cloud, they were invited to Versailles Monsieur yet again began to get exceptionally jealous. The reason for this one was that Minette became involved in a secret conference with the King to discuss the treaty she had been to England for. When Monsieur entered the room, they broke off their conversation and refused to continue it whilst he was there. And at dinner that evening a member of the court infuriated Monsieur by mentioning how attentive Monmouth had been to Minette during his visit. Not only that but Monsieur was starting to turn his eldest daughter against Minette, teaching her to hate her mother. Minette was of course deeply unhappy with this, and her health was failing fast.

In the June of 1670, Minette began to complain of searing pains in her side and people began to comment on how unwell she looked, including Monsieur! The next day she asked for some chicory water, which she had been drinking in the warm evenings since her return to St Cloud. As soon as she drank it she gave a cry and collapsed. Her maids put her to bed, and people began to talk of the water being poisoned. The pains in her stomach got worse and a doctor was called, who diagnosed Colic and said she would recover. But Minette knew she was dying as she called for Monsieur and said to him:

"Alas Monsieur, you have long since ceased to love me, but you have been unjust to me. I never wronged you."

It was suggested, by Monsieur, that to prove the water had not been poisoned that they should give some to the dog. Two of Minette's maids offered to taste it, as did Monsieur however it must be noted that they did not drink out of the same cup as Minette had, it was missing. When it was found it had been thrown into a fire to clean it. When Monsieur finally realised his wife was dying, he appeared very upset and rounded on the doctor, blaming him for his incompetence. But as Monsieur sat with her, she found his lamentations too much and sent him away again. Was he putting it on? And at three o clock in the morning on 30th June, Minette passed away.

The death certificate was signed after a post mortem was performed, the cause of death being stated as "cholera morbis", but the English doctors were not entirely satisfied with that, saying that the junior doctor who performed the post mortem was incompetent and it seemed as if he were covering up the truth. The post mortem however did not stop the rumours that flooded France and England - that she had been poisoned by the Chevalier Lorraine and his cronies. Monsieur however was not blamed for it. After her death, many confirmed that Minette had been poisoned, including Monsieur's second wife. Louis never believed that Monsieur had any part in it however, saying that if it were the case he would never allow Monsieur to marry again. It was the Orleans Maitre d'Hotel that said she had been poisoned but not by Monsieur. It had been Lorraine who hatched the plot in Italy with two of his friends who were living in the household of Monsieur. However, Louis tried hard to keep the poison theory hushed up, it was a politically sensitive time and even went so far as to recall Lorraine from his exile and allow him to live back in Monsieur's household. And despite the grief that wracked the French Royal Family, Monsieur's grief was incredibly superficial - he ended up dressing himself and his children in preposterous mourning clothes.

And as mentioned at the start of this post, when Charles II heard of his sisters death he cried, "Monsieur is a Villain" and locked himself away for 5 days in his grief, unable to bear the thought that his dearest Minette had been poisoned by her husband.

Whilst I do not believe that Monsieur had a hand in his wife's death, he certainly treated her terribly during her life. His showing off of his favourites and having open affairs with them was despicable, and more so when Lorraine began to use his place with Monsieur to try and ruin Minette, Monsieur did nothing to stop it. Indeed it seems to me that he encouraged it. Is it any wonder that Minette ended up sinking into sadness and illness that everyone commented on? The story of Minette's relationship with her husband makes me feel so sad, she did not deserve to be treated so badly by her husband. And from the little reading I have done on Minette, I have begun to dislike Monsieur hugely...and it's not often I feel so strongly about people from history (except for Oliver Cromwell, because well...he deserves it). I fully intend to do more reading in and around Minette's life, although I doubt very much my feelings on her nasty piece of work husband will change.

Further reading

Bevan, B, 1979, Charles II's Minette, Ascent Books: London
Norrington, R, 1996, My Dearest Minette, Peter Own Publishers: London

My Dearest Minette

You all know how much I adore Charles II. Sometimes I may even consider myself his number 1 fan...did I just admit that? I regret nothing whatsoever. And during my reading of Charlie's life I found myself struck by the close relationship he had with his sister Henrietta, Duchesse d'Orleans, or Minette as he so playfully called her. And so after doing a bit of reading around, finding references to Minette in various biographies of Charles, I decided I wanted to find out a little bit more about this fascinating woman. So I asked around on twitter to get some recommendations, and took myself off to Amazon.

I may have gotten a little bit overexcited when this one fell through my letter box the other day, and I began reading it right away. Though I've been trying to take it slowly as I'm trying to work my way through Lucy Worsley's "Cavalier" at the same time. This has become my before bed book, and as I read I quite often find myself so moved at how tender and loving these two siblings were to each other. They joke with each other, tell each other both bad news and good, talk politics, and always end on the sweetest of sentences.

Letter from Minette to Charles

I won't go too much into Minette's life on this post as I want to do a bit more reading about her before I start doing any sort of serious pieces on her. But through reading her letters to her brother I am struck by a bold woman, who loved her brother so much, who was kind, and a woman who always had the best interests of her home country at heart. She may have married into France, but she certainly worked very hard to get that famous alliance between Louis XIV and her brother! Of course Charles' foreign policy deserves a post all of it's own.

Letter from Charles to Minette

I must say that reading the letters between these two have opened up so many doors for me in my love of the Seventeenth Century, thanks to reading their own words it is much easier to get a sense of how they would have been feeling when certain events happened, the worry when sickness struck. It is eye opening, and I wish more than anything I could get my hands on the original documents and look at the beautiful handwriting of Charles and his sister. One day, one day. Until then, I am going to read more about the lovely Minette, because she has stolen my heart almost as much as her brother has done. And I need to know more.

Henrietta Anne Stuart, Duchesse d'Orleans by an unknown artist

Happy Birthday Charlie!

On 29th May 1630, Queen Henrietta Maria gave birth to a son at St James' Palace London. The child's father was, of course, the famous Charles I who would eventually be executed for apparent treason against his country. The little boy, Charles, was their second son - their first having been born about a year previously and died at less than a year old. When he was born, little Charles was automatically given the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, and was officially given the title of Prince of Wales around the time of his 8th birthday.

On his 30th birthday, 29th May 1660, Charles returned to London to reclaim the crown that was taken from his father. The day was full of rejoicing, the people were glad to have their King back and be rid of Puritan rule. The new monarch also reinstated things that had been banned under Puritan rule including theatres and sport. This day was known for a very long time as "Oak Apple Day" and was a celebration every year to mark the Restoration of the Monarchy.

You all know how much I love Charles II (or Charlie as I more commonly call him, because of reasons) and so I thought on this day which marks two very important occasions in his life I would write a little bit about how and why I love him so much, and why he was an amazing monarch.

When Charles was born, his mother Henrietta Maria was embarrassed due to his darker colouring (which came from her side of the family, her mother was the famous Marie De Medici), and called him ugly saying, "He is so ugly that I am ashamed of him, but his size and fatness supply the want of beauty". It looks like Henrietta got her comeuppance as Charlie grew up as he did indeed grow to be a rather handsome young man with a passion for the ladies! I mean he was an exceptionally adorable child. I mean just look at him!

When his father Charles I went to war with Parliament in 1642, little Charlie got his first taste of battle. He accompanied his father to the Battle of Edgehill (which famously ended up with no clear victor!) and during 1645 took part in a number of campaigns aged just 14!! Brave boy! But when it was clear he was losing the war, Charles escaped abroad where he lived in exile. Whilst there he made the er...acquaintance of Lucy Walter who became his mistress, and bore him his first son - James, who would later become Duke of Monmouth. He was also an exceptionally handsome young man...

When I saw this little miniature at "The Wild, The Beautiful and the Damned" I thought "HGFKSDHFFS HE LOOKS LIKE HIS DAD!"...ahem

After he became King, he restored the theatres and general fun which would eventually lead to him having the lovely Nell Gwynne as a mistress. In the mean time however he was too busy with his maitresse-en-titre Barbara Villiers (fascinating women but just naaaasty) who went on to bear him many illegitimate children. I read an excellent story that involved Charles going to Barbara's house where they spent the evening chasing a moth and giggling. Typical Charlie.

As we know, Charlie loved the theatre and he often frequented the theatres, even allowing women to act on stage. One of his great friends was the famous John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (a man who deserves a post in his own right!) who wrote a rather amusing ditty about Charles:

We have a pretty witty King

And whose word no man relies on

He never said a foolish thing

And never did a wise one.

Good ole Rochester also wrote some excellent bawdy plays - basically 17th century pornography!

The thing that gets me the most about Charles II is how he loved his people. In 1666, when the Great Fire of London hit, he helped. He actually went down into the streets and helped with the bucket work, helped try and stop the fire. Good old Charles ordered buildings to be destroyed to try and stop the spread of fire, but it didn't work all that well, so he ended up working with the common men to stop the spread of fire. Whenever I read of the Great Fire I always well up at his bravery, and working with his people. Just...it makes me want to cry. 

Charles was also a huuuuuge advocate of science and helped bring about the Royal Society. Charlie signed a charter in 1660 which allowed it to keep going, and throughout the years it got stronger and stronger, with members such as the lovely Prince Rupert!!

Also, his foreign policy was a little bit daft and it's no wonder that his advisers and parliament got a little bit peeved with him. To cut a very long story short, Charles ended up agreeing to ally with France, agreeing to the Treaty of Dover in which France would give him £16000 per year, and in agreement Charles agreed to give France troops and announce his conversion to Roman Catholicism...except he didn't convert...until he was on his death bed. Oh Charlie, you sneaky little bugger!!

Despite his many mistresses, including Barbara Villiers, Nell Gwynne, Louise De Kerouelle and Moll Davis etc; he was very much in love with his wife. There is a wonderful story in Brain Masters' book "The Mistresses of Charles II" in which Masters describes Charles going to bed with his wife Catherine of Braganza and she felt sick in the middle of the night. As she was throwing up, he went and fetched her a bowl and spent his night clearing up after her. That is LOVE!

And that is just a few reasons as to why I love Charles II - I won't mention his fabulous legs, love of nice shoes and general good looks...Not only that but he is the man who kept the famous Ravens in the Tower of London after his astrologer started moaning about them getting in the way of his telescope. Whilst he may have made some mistakes and later on alienated his parliament, he was a good man who believed in doing the best for his country. 

Charles II brought fun back to his kingdom, despite parliament constantly trying to outmanoeuvre him. I guess that's why he dissolved them and spent the last years of his reign in self reign. He loved many, fathered many, loved his subjects. He refused to make the mistakes his father did, despite making many of his own, and was a resounding success.

Charles II is a man to be looked up to. He brought fun back to his subjects, fought against parliament at the same time as trying desperately to work with them to save himself from the same mistakes his subjects made. yet despite his setbacks he still knew how to have fun, he loved to party, loved the theatre and more so loved his woman. I can't help but adore this man and all he did for England.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE! 382 YEARS YOUNG! MAY YOUR FABULOUS MEMORY LAST FOREVER. Here have a Horrible Histories gif...

The Amazing Life of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (In Bullet Points)

When I sat down to write this blog post, it was originally going to a book review of of Charles Spencer's "Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier". However as any followers of mine on twitter will attest to, when I finished the book yesterday I went on a rampage about how much I love the Rhineland Prince, and listed in a barrage of tweets WHY I love him so much. And I also warned people that this blog post may happen. I'm not sorry.

Anyway, I first of all wanted to thank Charles Spencer for providing me with lots of extra information about this fascinating man in the history of the Seventeenth Century. Oh don't get me wrong, I knew of Prince Rupert loooong before I picked up a book about him and that is all down to my days in the Sealed Knot, and plenty of beer tent drinking with Prince Rupert's Blewcoats! And in my reading around The English Civil War, the name of this exceptional military man just kept on popping up. Whether it be with fantastic military victories, Cavalry charges worthy of a song or the hateful propaganda poured out by Parliament; there was something incredibly special about Prince Rupert of the Rhine. And well...I guess you will all know already that I have one hell of a thing for Rupert because of the massive picture of him in the header image up there!

Reading Spencer's biography of Rupert was an eye opener for me, and has really peaked my interest. And so this post is going to talk about WHY I have such a thing for this dashing, Cavalier poster boy. And I'm going to do bullet points just because if I didn't then this post would end up being a million times longer. And each point, I hope, will show exactly how awesome (...oh god did I really just use the word awesome in a history blog post? I regret absolutely nothing) Prince Rupert was.

• He was the nephew of Charles I - what's not to like?
• Him and his family ended up in exile after his parents took over Bohemia where they ruled for just one season, which is why his parents Frederick V and Elizabeth of Bohemia are so often called the "Winter King & Queen". After the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II began advancing on Prague in 1619 just a few months after Rupert's birth, the family were forced to flee. And poor baby Rupert was almost left behind! A court servant ending up throwing him into one of the carriages at the last minute!
• They escaped to The Hague, where Rupert grew up, earning himself the nickname "Rupert the Devil" due to being incredibly mischievous.
• By the age of 14, Rupert had become a soldier, fighting in the Siege of Rheinberg in 1633, and by 1635 had become a member of the Prince of Orange's lifeguards. And during these years he earned himself a reputation for fearlessness in battle!
• In 1638 Rupert was captured during the Invasion of Westphalia, and imprisoned in Linz where his captors tried to convert him to Catholicism - Rupert refused, he was Calvinist and proud, and kept on refusing even when he was told he could go free if he converted.
• His captors ended up liking him though, and gave him a white poodle which he named "Boye"
• He was released in 1641 after promising never to take up arms against the Emperor again and went to England.
• He was appointed General of the Horse in 1642 by his uncle King Charles and ended up recruiting over 3000 men by the September. He won an astounding success at Powick Bridge after leading a surprise Cavalry charge.
• He played a key role at Edgehill, but he ended up arguing with another commander, making a swift cavalry charge but a lack of discipline in the ranks meant that he was unable to bring the troops back to the field. Edgehill could have been won by the Royalist, but it ended up with no clear victor.
• In 1643, he took Bristol, which became one of his best victories.
• It was at this point that Parliament really feared him. And he became a big issue in potential peace negotiations. And the propaganda against him kept on coming, some said he could even dodge bullets!
• During his later years in the wars though, he managed to make enemies. He may have been a great military man but he was never able to grasp the ways of the courtier, and had a very quick temper. He managed to have a huge falling out with George Digby, a favourite of King Charles, and this would end up haunting him for many years.
• At the battle of Marston Moor, 1644, Rupert commanded much of the Royalist army which ended up being a huge defeat. Rupert, and lack of clear communication, were blamed.
• After the Battle of Naseby, Rupert was one of the few Royalists to realise that actually, the war would be Parliament's and he tried his best to make his uncle see that. He urged his uncle to vie for peace but Digby got in the way of this! In 1645, Rupert was back at Bristol and overwhelmed by Parliament - he surrendered it in the September. Charles (influenced by Digby?) dismissed Rupert from his service.
• But Rupert being Rupert managed to convince his Uncle to hold a court martial to see is he had in fact been negligent in letting go of Bristol. After meeting with the King, it was decided that actually, Rupert had been the one in the right. Yet, Charles and Rupert ended up arguing about the fate of the Governor of Newark. And so Rupert resigned. 
• He ended up in France where he ended up fighting for Louis XIV, although he was quite clear in the fact that if his uncle wanted him, he would go back to England. Now that's loyalty!
• The main problem that Rupert had while he was in France was that the French court was dominated by his Aunt, Queen Henrietta Maria (who had a bit of a dislike for her Nephew) and her favourite Digby. I can imagine Rupert seething as he first came into contact with Digby upon entering the French court. So Rupert moved on and accepted a commission from Anne of Austria to fight for Louis. From 1647 Rupert fought with De Gassion, taking the fortress of La Bassee after a three week siege. Sadly not long after, Rupert and De Gassion were taken unawares by the Spanish - Rupert was shot in the head and very badly injured. It was an injury that would affect him for the rest of his life. Whilst Rupert was recovering, De Gassion was killed in combat.
• After this Rupert returned to the service of his Uncle, where he joined the Navy. At the time, Charles was a prisoner on the Isle of Wight and Rupert argued that the fleet should be used to rescue Charles. In the fleet, discipline was lacking and many ships ended up turning tail and joining the other side!
• After a reconciliation with his uncle, Rupert took command of the naval fleet himself. His command took him many many places. It was in Ireland that he learned of the execution of his Uncle. But he sailed on, determined to keep on fighting for the Royalist cause and the new King Charles II. These years took him as far as the Caribbean as a privateer (pirate), though he was often pursued by Parliamentary ships under the command of Robert Blake. 
• During the trip, Rupert almost lost his life in a storm in which his ship The Constant Reformation was shipwrecked. He was determined to go down with his men, except they ended up pushing him into a lifeboat and sending him across to his brother Prince Maurice. 333 lives were lost on that ship as well as a lot of treasure. Not long afterwards, in another storm as they sailed for the Virgin Islands, a hurricane scattered the remaining ships. The Defiance which was captained by Prince Maurice went missing and was never found. Rupert refused for a long time to believe that his brother was dead, although it was certain. And Maurice's death left a hole in Rupert's heart that would never be filled.
• in 1653 Rupert returned to France and the court of the exiled Charles II. But his presence caused problems, as he apparently became involved in a plot to assassinate Oliver Cromwell in 1654 and many in the court including Clarendon saw Rupert as an obstacle to peace.
• in 1655 Rupert left for Germany, where he visited his brother Charles-Louis. Relations broke down though and they parted on bad terms in 1657 and he took up employment with Ferdinand III.
• However after Charles II's restoration, Rupert moved permanently to England (with lots of wine!) and was granted a large pension by his cousin and ended up being made Constable of Windsor Castle in 1668. He continued his work with the Navy, fighting in the Dutch Wars.
• His old head wound began to flare up again and Rupert ended up undergoing trephanning TWICE to sort the problem out. This surgery had changed little since it had first been used by people in prehistory, and the survival rate was low. But survive, he did. And after retiring from active naval service in the 1670's he began to work very closely with the Royal Society, having long had an interest in science. Much of his scientific work ended up being military, and he is credited with early versions of the machine gun, revolver and torpedo. He also became involved in the colonisation of North America, dealing in trade and also the slave trade, he was also made First Governor of "Rupert's Land", an absolutely huge expanse of North America, though he never set foot there.
• Towards the end of his life, Rupert became romantically involved with the actress Peg Hughes - he never married her but ended up falling so head over heels in love with her that he almost became the laughing stock of court. Despite never marrying Peg, Rupert openly acknowledged their daughter Ruperta (born 1673), and enjoyed the family lifestyle.
• In November 1682, Rupert died of pleurisy at his house in Westminster.  He was buried in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey and given a magnificent state funeral.

Most people will think of the English Civil War when they hear Rupert's name and for a long time I was the same. But his life was absolutely remarkable and he ended up staying in the military well past his 50th year. Not only had he been part of the army and Navy, but he had been a pirate as well as taking part in science via the Royal Society and being hugely involved in the colonisation of America. And THAT is why I have such a thing for him.

Further Reading
Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier - Charles Spencer

It's Coronation Day for Charles II

On 23rd April 1661, King Charles II was crowned at Westminster Abbey, and I thought that I would write a little something about it. Just because you know, I think ole Charlie is rather fab.

The night before his Coronation, Charles took part in the traditional procession from the Tower of London to Whitehall, treading the same route as previous Kings. He was however, the last English Monarch to take part in this traditional procession. It started early, and everyone was mustered on Tower Hill at 8am on the morning of 22nd April. The diarist John Evelyn commented that the horses mustered there acted elegantly, which had to be a good thing as the horses were not allowed to be unruly or prove to be a menace. Samuel Pepys (another diarist close to my heart!) commented more so on the houses that lined the procession route, taking note of the rich carpets hanging out of their windows. Good old Samuel Pepys would also prove himself to be a bit of a party animal after the Coronation, getting himself stinking drunk! But more on that later. What's more, the streets ran with wine as Charles rode through the streets towards Westminster, stopping to watch plays set up in his honour. And along the way, it is said that Charles stopped at St Paul's, in front of a tavern to kiss the head of a newborn infant!

On 23rd, Coronation Day, Charles made his way to Westminster Abbey. And at 11am Charles entered the Abbey, with his periwigged head bare but he was dressed in full Coronation regalia of ermine, crimson and gold. There was just one problem, during Oliver Cromwell's time as Protector during the Interregnum, the Coronation adornments had been melted down including the famous crown of King Edward. The goldsmith Sir Robert Vyner came to the rescue however, replacing each piece exactly as it had been at a price of £30,000. The newly made regalia was carried before Charles as he made his way towards the front of the Abbey, with prominent nobles bearing the Crown (Ormond), the Sceptre (Albermarle), The Orb (Buckingham) and the Sword (Shrewsbury). Once they reached the altar, these were laid on top of it and Buckingham, Albermarle, Berkshire and Sandwich held a great cloth of gold over Charles' head for the annointing ceremony.

At the end of the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the Crown upon Charles' head and according to Pepys "a great shout began" - can you imagine the sound, and how it must have felt standing upon the Altar in that huge Abbey as your entire audience shouted in happiness at the return of their King? It must have been utterly brilliant! The nobles of the realm then lined up before their King to swear fealty, rising to touch the King's crown and promising to be ever ready to support it. The Lord Chancellor then read out a General Pardon to all those who had fought against the monarchy in the previous years, and medals were thrown into the air - these medals showed an engraving of an oak, a poignant look back to Charles' escape from Worcester.

Following this, the party moved across to Westminster Hall. There, in the great space where his father had faced trial, Charles II attended a massive banquet in his honour, watched by his subjects on massive scaffolds built around the room. The space was then filled with music, dancing and feasting and even the weather held out for them. Well, until at about 6pm in the evening a huge thunder storm began and the rain came down in sheets. This meant cancelling the fireworks, although in the streets the celebratory bonfires still raged.

It was at one of these bonfire parties that Samuel Pepys and his wife began to drink to the King's health. After a while, and after a lot of drinking, Pepys sent his wife home and moved on to one of his friends where they continued drinking. They continued drinking "til one of the gentlemen fell down stark drunk and lay there spewing". A very tipsy Pepys staggered to his friend Sandwich's house where he woke up to find this he was vomiting too. And he wrote in his diary, "Thus did the day end with joy everywhere".

The Coronation of Charles II heralded a new era to his people, they had come out of years of darkness at the hand of Oliver Cromwell and had restored their rightful monarch to his throne. And Charles would end up, for the most part, being loved by his people. And what a great start to his reign it was, filled with joy, parties and a very drunk Samuel Pepys!

Further Reading

Fraser A, 1979, King Charles II, Butler & Tanner: London
Uglow, J, 2009, A Gambling Man, Faber & Faber: London

Barbara Villiers Part 4: Downfall and Death

Barbara Villiers by Sir Peter Lely

 It's been a while since I posted about Barbara Villiers, mainly because writing about how her relationship with Charles affected Catherine of Braganza got me a little teared up. I can't help it, this family just give me way too many feelings ok? As I've said previously, I find Barbara utterly fascinating but well, she really wasn't the nicest of women was she? Anyway, today's post will concentrate on her downfall, her banishment and her death as a lonely, penniless old woman.

As mentioned in the previous post, Barbara had taken the pretty young Frances Stuart under her wing, manipulating the King's obsession with her to her own ends. Sadly for Barbara, the King's obsession with Frances meant that he began to spend less time with Barbara, and Frances had really begun to outshine the King's main mistress. And so, in a carefully planned display of power, Barbara would take it upon herself to wear more Jewell's than both Frances and the Queen put together. There was also an incident at the theatre where one evening she left her ow box and walked uninvited into the King's box, perching herself between the King and the Duke of York. This was Barbara Villiers making sure that people knew she wasn't going to be left out. Barbara was also incredibly greedy, raiding the Privy Purse on her own whim, and taking the King's New Year gifts of silver all for herself, and she would end up gambling a lot of money away - some estimates say she squandered over half a million pounds on her gambling habits. She would also then have to find ways of paying off her debts, which lead to her acquiring land from the King and then selling said land off - a good example of this being her being given Nonsuch Palace which she consequently ransacked and demolished to pay her debts.

The next really important event in Barbara's life that needs talking about is her role in the downfall of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon. As we have already seen, the two did not get on at all and Clarendon particularly disliked her. The main issue was that Barbara had placed her own puppets at the centre of politics and this left poor Clarendon with very little to do. Barbara had been waiting for a long time to be rid of Clarendon and to get rid of the man that she so despised; that opportunity came with the signing of the Treaty of Breda which was agreed before Parliament could be assembled. Clarendon was blamed for preventing Parliament from doing anything about it, and the outcry was headed by none other than Barbara Villiers.

The Treaty of Breda

As such, Charles was persuaded. Clarendon had to go. Clarendon was thus summoned to a private meeting in which he spoke out against Barbara's influence on the King. Charles, of course, was outraged and stormed out leaving Clarendon standing there at a loss. What on earth had he done? Two days later, Charles sent to Clarendon to collect the seal of Office from Clarendon and dismissed him from service. Poor Clarendon, victim of Barbara's scheming, left England on 3rd December 1667.

What was it that made Charles want to get rid of Barbara though? It started when Barbara was pregnant again, this time with Jermyn's child. She attempted to force Charles to admit paternity of the child but Charles resisted, saying he hadn't slept with her for months. "God damn ye, but you shall own it!" she cried; and she threatened that if he did not acknowledge the child she would dash its brains out before him, and parade all of his bastards before him. The real turning point came when Barbara made a public fool of the King, and made him fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness saying she didn't care whose child she bore as long as the King recognised it as his own.

Charles on his knees before Barbara Villiers by William Powell Frith

From then on, the King wanted rid of her, or so the court talk said. After an episode of insolence (yet again) he banished her from court and after three days she collected her things. But once they came face to face everything would be fine again. But at this stage, they were really beyond repair and began to outdo each other in their infidelity - Charles took a fancy to the actress Moll Davis, and later Nell Gwynne would make her way into the King's affections. She would end up lasting much longer than Moll ever did. And to keep Barbara out of the way at this time, Charles bestowed more and more gifts upon her. To remove her from the immediate vicinity of Whitehall he gave her Berkshire House, and she lived there with her children until it became necessary to sell due to her debts. During this time she also took countless other lovers including a rope dance by the name of Jacob Hall. Much later she would take John Churchill, Duke if Marlborough to her bed, By this time she was well out of favour and was making the most of Charles' "gifts" whilst he spent his time with his other mistresses.

Louise De Kerouelle eventually became Charles' Maitresse-En-Titre, completely eclipsing Barbara. And at the same time Nell Gwynne was the woman that Charles escaped too when he wanted a break from the political machinations of his mistresses - Nell made him laugh, and asked little from him unlike Louise. Yet at the same time Barbara still demanded that her sons be given titles.

In 1676, Charles finally managed to get Barbara out of the picture and she moved to Paris where she took a number of lovers. But by the time of Charles' death in 1685, they were still friends despite everything and on his deathbed Charles apparently asked his brother to be kind to her (as well ash is famous comment to "Let not poor Nelly starve"). After Charles' death, Barbara was heavilly involved with a man by the name of Cardonell Goodman, nicknamed "Scum", and there was an incident in which he was found guilty of trying to poison her children which she ultimately ignored.

Barbara would live to a relatively old age and at the age of 64 would become involved in a massive scandal, which involved a trial for bigamy. At 64, completely based on lust, Barbara threw herself into a relationship with Robert Fielding, a man who was known to be incredibly violent. They married on 25th November 1775, and 6 months later she discovered that he had another wife who he had married just two weeks before their own wedding. Why had he done this? To get his hands on their money of course, Barbara herself was said to be worth over £60,000! She had, of course, lost most of her fortune in this unfortunate marriage.

On 9th October 1709, Barbara Villiers died at the age of 68 having spent her last few years at Chiswick. She was cared for by the Duke of Grafton who showed real devotion to her despite her previous issues with Fielding. Her once famous beauty had been destroyed by dropsy, a condition which swelled her body to a vast bulk. She was buried at Chiswick Parish Church in 1709.

Barbara Villiers may have been a nasty piece of work, a woman who had a brilliant mind and who knew who to twist people around her little finger but she died a sad death, lonely and, it seems to me at least, unloved. She had known great power, both being loved by a King and politically but in the end she allowed her lust to get the better of her. Fielding used her, spent most of her fortune and left her high and dry and let her die a sad, lonely old woman. In this sense I feel incredibly sorry for Barbara, she had had a brilliant life spent in the limelight at court, she didn't care that many hated her. She had real political influence over the King and managed to keep his attention on her for a good many years. She had known the best, only to die with nothing. She was a remarkable woman and a woman who honestly interests me greatly. And whilst as a person, from reading about her, I may dislike her immensely (if only for how she made poor Queen Catherine feel) but also as a person she interests me greatly, she knew how to get what she wanted and managed to keep the King's interest for many, many years. Barbara Villiers was a woman of her time, who used her womanhood and sexuality to get what she wanted, yet at the same time immersed herself in the male role of politics - and despite how nasty she could be, those qualities alone make her a woman to look up to!

Further reading

Fraser, A, 1979, King Charles II, Butler & Tanner: London
Fraser, A, 1984, The Weaker Vessel: Women's Lot in Seventeenth Century England, Phoenix: London
Masters, B, 1979, The Mistresses of Charles II, Constable: London
Uglow, J, 2009, A Gambling Man, Faber & Faber: London