Lady Frances Villiers (née Howard; ca.1633 – 30 November 1677) was an English noblewoman and a governess to the future Queens

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

and

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. Frances was the youngest daughter of

Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, (13 August 15843 June 1640) was an English nobleman and politician. Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, Catherine Knyvet ...

, and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Home (daughter of

George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar, KG, PC (ca. 155620 January 1611) was, in the last decade of his life, the most prominent and most influential Scotsman in England. His work lay in the King's Household and in the control of the State Affairs of ...

). In 1646 she married Edward Villiers, the son of the late Sir Edward Villiers, Master of the Mint. Their children were: *Anne (1651-1688), who married

Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (Dutch: ''Hans Willem Bentinck''; 20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch-born English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, ...

, and had children *Katherine (1652-1709), who married, first, Louis-Jacques, Marquis du Puissar (died 1701) and second, William Villiers, a son of

George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison was an Anglo-Irish peer from the Villiers family. He is known for being the maternal grandfather of Pitt the elder, prime minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. He was also the uncle of two royal mis ...

, and thus her cousin *Barbara (1654-1708), Viscountess Fitzharding, who married

John Berkeley, 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge John Berkeley, 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge of Bruton, Somerset (1650 – 19 December 1712) was an English courtier, treasury official, army officer and politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, ...

, and had two daughters *

Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (c. 165625 August 1711) was an English peer, courtier, and statesman of the Villiers family. He was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697. A leading Tory politician ...

(1656–1711), *

Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney {{Infobox noble , name = Elizabeth Hamilton , title = Countess of Orkney , image = Elizbeth Villiers.jpg , caption = Elizabeth Villiers , alt = , CoA = , more ...

(1657-1733) *Mary (1670-1753), who married

William O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin William MacWilliam O'Brien, 8th Baron of Inchiquin, 3rd Baron O'Brien of Burren, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin PC (1662 – 24 December 1719) was an Irish nobleman. Life William O'Brien was the son of William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin and Lady Ma ...

, and had children *Henry (1677-1707) *Henrietta (died 1720), who married

John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland (19 November 1662 – 23 February 1752) a Scottish nobleman born in Breadalbane to John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland and Lady Mary Rich. In 1685 he married Lady Frances Cavendish ...

, and had children G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 293. Frances became governess to the two young princesses, the daughters of the Duke of York (the future King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

) in 1669, after the death of their mother,

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 163731 March 1671) was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry – Edward Hyde (later created ...

, whose father,

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II from ...

, was a friend of the Villiers family. When Princess Mary left for Holland in 1677, as the wife of William of Orange, Frances's eldest son, Edward, went with the couple as Mary's Master of Horse. Frances died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

, where the household of the princesses was based. She was buried at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villiers, Frances 1630s births 1677 deaths Governesses to the English Royal Household Villiers family