Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English
royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advice ...
of the
Villiers family
Villiers ( ) is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Clevel ...
and perhaps the most notorious of the many
mistresses
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
of King
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
, by whom she had five children, all of them acknowledged and subsequently ennobled. Barbara was the subject of many portraits, in particular by court painter Sir
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.
Life
Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...
.
Barbara's first cousin
Elizabeth Villiers
Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney (1657{{snd19 April 1733) (born Elizabeth Villiers) was an English courtier from the Villiers family and the reputed mistress (lover), mistress of William III of England, William III & II, List of English mona ...
(later 1st Countess of Orkney 1657–1733) was the presumed mistress of King
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
.
Early life
Born into the
Villiers family
Villiers ( ) is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Buckingham (1623–1687) and Clevel ...
as Barbara Villiers, in the parish of
St. Margaret's, Westminster
The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...
, Middlesex,
she was the only child of
William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison
William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison (1614 – 23 September 1643) was an Irish peer and Royalist soldier who was fatally wounded during the First English Civil War in 1643.
Personal details
William Villiers was born in 1614, eldest son ...
, a half-nephew of the
1st Duke of Buckingham, and of his wife Mary Bayning, co-heiress of
Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning
Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning of Sudbury in Suffolk (1588 – 29 July 1629), previously known as Sir Paul Bayning and as Baron Bayning, was an English landed gentleman, created a peer in 1628.
Life
Bayning was the son of another Paul Bayn ...
. On 29 September 1643 her father died in the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
from a wound sustained on 26 July at the storming of Bristol, while leading a brigade of
Cavaliers
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
. He had spent his considerable fortune on horses and ammunition for a regiment he raised himself; his widow and daughter were left in straitened circumstances. Shortly after Grandison's death, Barbara's mother married secondly Charles Villiers, 2nd
Earl of Anglesey
Earl of Anglesey was a title in the Peerage of England during the 17th and 18th centuries.
History
The first creation came in 1623 when Christopher Villiers was created Earl of Anglesey, in Wales, as well as Baron Villiers. He was the elder br ...
, a cousin of her late husband.
Upon the execution of
King Charles I in 1649, the impoverished Villiers family secretly transferred its loyalty to his son,
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
. Every year on 29 May, the new King's birthday, young Barbara, along with her family, descended to the cellar of their home in total darkness and clandestinely drank to his health. At that time, Charles was living in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, supported at first by his brother-in-law, Prince
William II of Orange
William II (27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three year ...
, and later by his nephew,
William III of Orange
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...
.
Marriage
![Barbara Villiers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Barbara_Villiers.jpg)
Tall, voluptuous, with masses of brunette hair, slanting, heavy-lidded violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth, Barbara Villiers was considered to be one of the most beautiful of the Royalist women, but her lack of fortune left her with reduced marriage prospects. Her first serious romance was with
Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield PC FRS (1634 – 28 January 1714) was a peer in the peerage of England.G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Comp ...
, but he was searching for a rich wife; he wed
Elizabeth Butler in 1660. On 14 April 1659 she married
Roger Palmer (later 1st Earl of Castlemaine), a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world. The Palmers had joined the ambitious group of supplicants who sailed for Brussels at the end of 1659. In 1660, Barbara became the king's mistress, and on 20 August 1660 was awarded two pennies
seigniorage
Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (from the Old French ''seigneuriage'', "right of the lord (''seigneur'') to mint money"), is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be ...
on every Troy pound of silver minted into coins. As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and
Earl of Castlemaine
The Earldom of Castlemaine was a title created in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created for Roger Palmer, the husband of Barbara Palmer (née Villiers), mistress to King Charles II. The Earl was also given the title ''Baron Limerick''. The ea ...
in 1661. These titles were given with the stipulation that they would only be passed down through Roger's heirs by Barbara, and thus served as a way for the king to indirectly secure an inheritance for his illegitimate children. The two officially separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son. It has been claimed that Roger Palmer did not father any of his wife's children.
Royal mistress
Lady Castlemaine's influence over the King waxed and waned throughout her tenure as royal mistress. At her height, her influence was so great that she has been referred to as "The Uncrowned Queen," and she was known to assert her influence with the King over the actual Queen,
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...
. This initially began upon the Queen's landing at Portsmouth. Samuel Pepys reported that the customary bonfire outside Lady Castlemaine's house was left conspicuously unlit for the Queen's arrival. In point of fact, she planned to give birth to her and Charles' second child at
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
while the royal couple were honeymooning.
Of her six children, five were acknowledged by Charles as his. Charles did not believe he sired the youngest, but he was coerced into legally owning paternity by Lady Castlemaine:
*
Lady Anne Palmer, later FitzRoy (1661–1722), probably daughter of Charles II, although some people believed she bore a resemblance to the
Earl of Chesterfield
Earl of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also i ...
. She was claimed by Charles, Chesterfield and Palmer. She later became the Countess of Sussex.
*
Charles Palmer, later FitzRoy (1662–1730), styled Lord Limerick and later Earl of Southampton, created
Duke of Southampton
Duke of Southampton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 for Charles FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress, the 1st Duchess of Cleveland. Together with the dukedom, Charles Fitzroy also receive ...
(1675), later
2nd Duke of Cleveland (1709)
*
Henry FitzRoy (1663–1690), created
Earl of Euston
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
(1672) and
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...
(1675)
*
Charlotte FitzRoy (1664–1718), later
Countess of Lichfield. She gave birth to at least eighteen children.
*
George FitzRoy (1665–1716), created
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...
(1674) and
Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...
(1683)
*
Barbara (Benedicta) FitzRoy (1672–1737) – Barbara Villiers claimed that she was Charles's daughter, but she was probably the child of her mother's second cousin and lover,
John Churchill
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
, later
Duke of Marlborough
General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...
Lady of the Bedchamber
Upon the birth of her oldest son in 1662, she was appointed
Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...
despite opposition from Queen Catherine and
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 ...
, chief advisor to the King and a bitter enemy of Lady Castlemaine. Behind closed doors, Barbara and the Queen feuded constantly.
Her victory in being appointed as Lady of the Bedchamber was followed by rumours of an estrangement between her and the King, the result of his infatuation with
Frances Stuart. In December 1663, Lady Castlemaine announced her conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. Historians disagree as to why she did so. Some believe it was an attempt to consolidate her position with the King, and some believe it was a way of strengthening her ties with her Catholic husband. The King treated the matter lightly, saying that he was interested in ladies' bodies, but not their souls. The Court was equally flippant, the general view being that the Church of Rome had gained nothing by her conversion, and the Church of England had lost nothing.
In June 1670 Charles created her Baroness Nonsuch (as she was the owner of
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...
). She was also, briefly, granted the ownership of
Phoenix Park
The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...
in Dublin as a present from the King. She was made Countess of Castlemaine and
Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. However, no one at court was sure if this was an indication that she was being jettisoned by Charles, or whether this was a sign that she was even higher in his favours. The dukedom was made with a special remainder which allowed it to be passed to her eldest son,
Charles FitzRoy, despite his illegitimacy.
Character
Lady Castlemaine was known for her dual nature. She was famously extravagant and promiscuous, with a renowned temper that often turned itself on the King when she was displeased. Diarist
John Evelyn
John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...
called her "the curse of the nation". She held influence over the King in her position as royal mistress and helped herself to money from the
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018.
Overview
The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (200 ...
as well as taking bribes from the Spanish and the French, in addition to her sizable allowance from the King.
She also participated in politics, combining with the future
Cabal Ministry
The Cabal ministry or the CABAL refers to a group of high councillors of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1668 to .
The term ''Cabal'' has a double meaning in this context. It refers to the fact that, for perhaps the first ...
to bring about Clarendon's downfall. On his dismissal in August 1667, Lady Castlemaine publicly mocked him; Clarendon gently reminded her that if she lived, one day she too would be old. There are also accounts of exceptional kindness from Lady Castlemaine; once, after a scaffold had fallen onto a crowd of people at the theatre, she rushed to assist an injured child, and was the only court lady to have done so. Others described her as great fun, keeping a good table and with a heart to match her famous temper.
Downfall
The King had taken other mistresses, the most notable being the actress
Nell Gwynne
Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...
. Later in their relationship, the Duchess of Cleveland took other lovers too, including the acrobat Jacob Hall,
Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover
Henry Jermyn, 3rd Baron Jermyn and 1st Baron Dover, 1st Jacobite Earl of Dover PC (c. 1636–1708) was an English peer and supporter of James II.
Jermyn was the second son of Thomas Jermyn, of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, who died in 1659, and his wi ...
and her
second cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
John Churchill
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
. Her lovers benefited financially from the arrangement; Churchill purchased an
annuity
In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...
with £5,000 she gave him. The King, who was no longer troubled by the Duchess's infidelity, was much amused when he heard about the annuity, saying that after all a young man must have something to live on. Her open promiscuity and extravagant spending made her a popular figure for satirists to use to indirectly ridicule the King and his court, which made her position as royal mistress all the more precarious. In 1670 Charles II gave her the famed
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...
. As the result of the 1673
Test Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and nonconformists. The underlying principle was that only people taking communion in t ...
, which essentially banned Catholics from holding office, she lost her position as Lady of the Bedchamber, and the King cast her aside completely from her position as a mistress, taking
Louise de Kérouaille as his newest "favourite"
royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advice ...
. The King advised his former mistress to live quietly and cause no scandal, in which case he "cared not whom she loved".
In 1676 the Duchess travelled to Paris with her four youngest children, but returned to England four years later. Her extravagant tastes didn't lessen with time, and between 1682 and 1683 she had Nonsuch Palace pulled down and had the building materials sold off to pay gambling debts. She was eventually reconciled with the King, who was seen enjoying an evening in her company a week before he died in February 1685. After his death, the 45-year-old Duchess began an affair with
Cardonell Goodman
Cardell Goodman (also Cardonell) (1649?–1699) was an English actor and adventurer, now known as a Jacobite conspirator.
Early life
He was son of a clergyman of the same name at one time in Shaftesbury, Dorset, and on 18 March 1651 removed fro ...
, an actor of terrible reputation, and in March 1686 she gave birth to his child, a son.
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, volume 2, p. 2096. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.]
Second marriage
In 1705 Roger Palmer died, and she married Major-General
Robert Fielding
Robert Fielding (or ''Feilding''; also nicknamed Beau Fielding; 1650/51 – 12 May 1712) was an English bigamist and rake in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was known as a handsome womanizer at the royal court of King Charles II ...
, an unscrupulous fortune-hunter whom she later had prosecuted for
bigamy
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, after she discovered that he had married Mary Wadsworth, in the mistaken belief that she was an heiress, just two weeks before he married Barbara. She had complained of his "barbarous ill-treatment" of her after she stopped his allowance, and was eventually forced to summon the magistrates for protection.
Death
Barbara died at the age of 68 on 9 October 1709 at her home,
Walpole House
The Grade I listed building Walpole House is the largest, finest, and most complicated of the grand houses on Chiswick Mall, a waterfront street in the oldest part of Chiswick. Both the front wrought-iron screen and gate, and the back boundary ...
on
Chiswick Mall
Chiswick Mall is a waterfront street on the north bank of the river Thames in the oldest part of Chiswick in West London, with a row of large houses from the Georgian and Victorian eras overlooking the street on the north side, and their gard ...
, after suffering from
dropsy
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
, now described as oedema of the legs, with congestive heart failure.
Cultural depictions
Theatre
Barbara Villiers figures prominently in
Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's ''
In Good King Charles's Golden Days
''In Good King Charles's Golden Days'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw, subtitled ''A True History that Never Happened''.
It was written in 1938-39 as an "educational history film" for film director Gabriel Pascal in the aftermath of '' Pygmalio ...
'' (1939) and
Jessica Swale
Jessica Swale is a British playwright, theatre director and screenwriter. Her first play, ''Blue Stockings,'' premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013. It is widely performed by UK amateur companies and is also studied on the Drama GCSE syllabus ...
's ''
Nell Gwynn
Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...
'' (2015), played in the premiere productions by
Daphne Heard
Delia Phyllis Daphne Heard (21 August 1904 – 22 June 1983) was an English actress and acting teacher. She was born in Plymouth, Devon. She appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and TV series. But was perhaps best known in latter years a ...
and
Sasha Waddell respectively.
Novels
Villiers is the protagonist in the following literary fiction novels:
*''Royal Mistress'' (1977) by Patricia Campbell Horton
*''Royal Harlot'' (2007) by
Susan Holloway Scott
Susan Holloway Scott is an American author of historical fiction who also writes under several pen names. She has also written historical romance novels under the pen names Miranda Jarrett and Isabella Bradford.
Biography
Susan Holloway Scott ...
*''
Forever Amber'' (1944) by
Kathleen Winsor
Kathleen Winsor (October 16, 1919 – May 26, 2003) was an American author. She is best known for her first work, the 1944 historical novel '' Forever Amber''. The novel, racy for its time, became a runaway bestseller even as it drew criticism ...
*''A Health Unto His Majesty'' (1956) by
Jean Plaidy
Eleanor Alice Hibbert (née Burford; 1 September 1906 – 18 January 1993) was an English writer of historical romances. She was a prolific writer who published several books a year in different literary genres, each genre under a different pen ...
* ''The Sceptre and the Rose'' (1967) by
Doris Leslie
Doris Leslie (née Oppenheim, later Lady Fergusson Hannay) (9 March 1891 – 30 May 1982), was a British novelist and historical biographer. Her novel ''Peridot Flight'' (1956) was serialised in 10 episodes by BBC TV in October–December 1960.
A ...
And as being a recurring character in
Susanna Gregory
Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medici ...
's Thomas Chaloner series of mystery novels.
Film
Barbara is played:
* In the 1911 film ''
Sweet Nell of Old Drury
''Sweet Nell of Old Drury'' (US: ''Nell Gwynne'') is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford starring Nellie Stewart about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. It is based on the 1900 play of the same nam ...
'' by Agnes Keogh
* In the 1922 film ''
The Glorious Adventure'' by
Elizabeth Beerbohm
* In the 1926 film ''
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage ...
'' by
Juliette Compton
Juliette Compton (May 3, 1899 – March 19, 1989) was an American actress whose career began in the silent film era and concluded with ''That Hamilton Woman'' in 1941.
Career
Compton was born in Columbus, Georgia, on May 3, 1899. She was a ...
* In the 1934 film ''
Colonel Blood
Colonel Thomas Blood (1618 – 24 August 1680) was an Anglo-Irish officer and self-styled colonel best known for his attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671. Described in an American source as a "no ...
'' by
Anne Grey
Anne Grey (born Aileen Stephen Ewing; 6 March 1907 – 3 April 1987) was an English actress, who appeared in 44 films between 1928 and 1939, including some Hollywood films during the late 1930s. She was educated at Lausanne and King's College L ...
* In the 1947 film ''
Forever Amber'' by Natalie Draper
* In the 1989 film ''
The Lady and the Highwayman
''The Lady and the Highwayman'' is a 1989 United Kingdom romantic adventure television film based on Barbara Cartland's 1952 romance novel ''Cupid Rides Pillion''. The working title of the film was ''Dangerous Love''.
The film stars Hugh Gra ...
'' by
Emma Samms
Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson MBE known professionally as Emma Samms, (born 28 August 1960) is an English actress and TV host, known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'' and as the second actress ...
* In the 1995 film ''
England, My England
''England, My England'' is a 1995 British historical film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Michael Ball, Simon Callow, Lucy Speed and Robert Stephens. It depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell, seen through the eyes of a playwrigh ...
'' by
Letitia Dean
Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...
* In the 2009 film ''Broadside'' by
Antonia Kinlay
Antonia Kinlay is a British / American actress and voiceover artist. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Her TV credits include playing Sarah Shadlock in ''Strike'' for BBC / HBO and ' The Royals' for E!
She played Revlon ...
Television
Barbara is played:
* In the 1969
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''
The First Churchills
''The First Churchills'' is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was writt ...
'' by
Moira Redmond
Moira Redmond (14 July 1928 – 16 March 2006) was an English actress.
Biography
She was born in Bognor Regis, Sussex, England. Her parents were actors and director managers, although she was also cared for by other relatives. Her grandfathe ...
* In the 1974 TV series ''Churchill's People'' by Diana Rayworth
* In the 2003 miniseries ''
Charles II: The Power & The Passion'' by
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbe ...
* In the 2014 miniseries ''
The Great Fire'' by
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
*
Portrait of Barbara Villiers and Charles FitzroyThe Diary of Samuel Pepys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess Of
1640 births
1709 deaths
17th-century English nobility
18th-century English nobility
17th-century English women
18th-century English women
English courtesans
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
Hereditary peeresses created by Charles II
English Roman Catholics
Daughters of viscounts
Dukes of Cleveland
English duchesses
Irish countesses
Mistresses of Charles II of England
People from Westminster
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of En ...
Deaths from edema
Ladies of the Bedchamber
Household of Catherine of Braganza
Earls of Southampton