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 advic ...

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 Cleve ...

and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses 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 o ...

, 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 (later 1st Countess of Orkney 1657–1733) was the presumed mistress of King William III.

Early life

Born into the

as Barbara Villiers, in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, Middlesex, she was the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison, a half-nephew of the 1st Duke of Buckingham, and of his wife Mary Bayning, co-heiress of Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning. 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 Angl ...

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 a ...

. 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 o ...

, 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 ...

, 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 ...

Marriage

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 let ...

, 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 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 Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

. 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 ...

. 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 o ...

(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, later Duke of Marlborough

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 fr ...

, 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 B ...

). 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 t ...

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 m ...

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. 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, ...

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

. 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 ...

, 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"

. 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, 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. ...

, 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 w ...

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 g ...

, 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'' (2015), played in the premiere productions by Daphne Heard 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 wa ...

*'' 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 f ...

*''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 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 name ...

'' 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 stag ...

'' 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'' 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 * 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 playwri ...

'' 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 f ...

* In the 2009 film ''Broadside'' by Antonia Kinlay

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 ...

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 writ ...

'' by Moira Redmond * In the 1974 TV series ''Churchill's People'' by Diana Rayworth * In the 2003 miniseries '' Charles II: The Power & The Passion'' by Helen McCrory * In the 2014 miniseries '' The Great Fire'' by Susannah Fielding

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