Lady Mary Tudor, Countess of Derwentwater (16 October 1673 – 5 November 1726) was an actress and natural daughter 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 King of England, England, Scotland and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II ...

by his mistress, Mary "Moll" Davies, an actress and singer.

Biography

Early life and title

Mary grew up in a house on the south-west side of St James Square, close to

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous c ...

and

Whitehall palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...

, and from an early age she was surrounded by the

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

The Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

. Mary followed in her mother's footsteps, and began acting at a young age. She was a part of the many performances put on at Charles II's elaborate court. At age nine, she sang the part of the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

, erotic love, attraction and affection,

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

, alongside her mother, who was starring as

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, in the play '' Venus and Adonis.'' On 10 December 1680, seven-year-old Mary was, in recognition of her paternity, granted by a Royal warrant, the name ''Tudor'' (as a nod to their collateral descent from the

Tudor family The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

) and the precedence of the daughter of an

Earl 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 ...

. In September 1683, she was issued 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, ...

of £1500 (roughly ), and a year later, on 21 February 1684, her precedence was heightened to that of a daughter of a

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Marriages and children

On 18 August 1687, Lady Mary married

Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (1655 – 29 April 1705) was an English peer, styled Viscount Radclyffe from 1688 to 1695. He inherited the earldom from his father, Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater in 1697. His mother wa ...

(9 December 1655 – 29 April 1705) by whom she had four children:Profile
thepeerage.com; accessed 25 July 2017. *

James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (26 June 1689 – 24 February 1716) was an English Jacobite, executed for treason. Life Radclyffe was the son of Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater and Lady Mary Tudor, the natural daughter o ...

(1689–1716) * Lady Mary Tudor Radclyffe *

Charles Radclyffe Charles Radclyffe (3 September 1693 – 8 December 1746), titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the few English participants in the Risings of 1715 and 1745. The Radclyffes were Roman Catholics from Northumberland, with long-standing ...

(3 September 1693 – 8 December 1746) * Hon. Francis Radclyffe Mary separated from Lord Derwentwater in 1700, reportedly due to her unwillingness to convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. On 23 May 1705, shortly after Lord Derwentwater's death, she married secondly, to Henry Graham. Graham died on 7 January 1707. A few months later, on 26 August, Lady Mary married Major James Rooke.

Death

Lady Mary died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 5 November 1726, aged 53.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudor, Mary, Lady 1673 births 1726 deaths 17th-century English people 18th-century English actresses 17th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish actresses 17th-century English women 18th-century English women 18th-century English people

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Illegitimate children of Charles II of England British emigrants to France

Derwentwater Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowdal ...

Daughters of kings