Tag Archives: Barbara Villiers

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, his brother and their women

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George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham by Sir Peter Lely via Wikimedia Commons

George was born in 1628. He was only an infant when his father was assassinated by John Felton. Charles I arranged for the boy and his brother Francis and their elder sister Mary, to be raised in the royal nurseries and from there to complete his education at Cambridge.

He took part in the Siege of Lichfield in 1643 but was sent with his brother, under the tutorship of the Earl of Northumberland, to Italy but returned to England in time for the Second English Civil War. Because of his age, Parliament returned his sequestrated lands to him. Francis was still only 19 years old when he joined the Earl of Holland’s failed Royalist rising. The boy was killed on 7 July 1648 in a particularly brutal manner following a surprise attack. Part of the reason for the soldiers success was that Villiers had sent his companions away so that he could enjoy the evening which his mistress, Mary Kirke.

George managed to escape the situation after fighting off six Parliamentarians. Parliament once again confiscated his lands and gave them to General Sir Thomas Fairfax. Charles II admitted Buckingham to his council but he was often in opposition to Edward Hyde and he negotiated with Oliver Comrwell’s government which distanced him from the rest of the king’s advisers. Matters were not helped by a dispute with Charles and an attempt to court the widowed Mary, Princess of Orange.

When he returned to England in 1657 he met and married Mary Fairfax, the daughter of the general who held his lands. Fairfax had intended his daughter to marry Philip Stanhope but Mary fell in love with the cavalier. Fairfax was even required to negotiate for the release of his son-in-law from the Tower of London.

It was not to be a happy marriage. Buckingham found his way back into royal favour at the Restoration and was soon up to his neck in intrigue and passion. He became part of the so called CABAL Ministry and in 1668 fought a duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury over the earl’s wife. Having killed the earl, he imported the widowed countess to his home. She apparently had been present at the duel disguised as a page. When Mary protested, he arranged to send her home to her father. In 1671, Anna Talbot gave birth to Buckingham’s son but the boy died soon afterwards. Parliament was not amused and in 1673 the lovers parted. Anna found herself temporarily in a convent in France.

As well as the scandalous affair with Anna, Buckingham also had a liaison with Barbara Villiers, who was his cousin. The pair had, it seems, several amorous encounters with one another at the same time as plotting against their enemies including the Earl of Clarendon. Of course, the fact that both of them wanted to be the most powerful person at court and to have Charles II’s favour it meant that as soon as they’d finished with their intrigues to topple their shared political opponent they turned on one another.

Pepys stated in his diary that Buckingham was unfit for public office after his duel. Pepys also referenced another court observer who described him as an. ‘atheist, blasphemer, violent, cruel and infamous for his licentiousness.’

For Mary Fairfax, a devout Presbyterian, who genuinely loved her erring spouse there was only dignified silence. Perhaps it’s what ensured she and Catherine of Braganza became close friends. Mary served the queen from 1663 until 1692 when Catherine returned to Portugal.

Villiers died in 1687 at Kirkbymoorside. He was given an elaborate funeral at Westminster Abbey. His long suffering wife was buried beside him after her death in 1704. She had spent many of those years fending off her husband’s creditors.

Anna Talbot returned to England in 1677, married again and was welcomed back into society although she was never allowed custody of hers and Shrewsbury’s son – Charles. In 1688, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, Anna became a Jacobite spy.

Charles Talbot, 12th Earl of Shrewsbury, on the other hand, refused to have anything to do with the Catholic king even when he was sitting on the throne. In 1688 he was one of the so-called Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to invade England and topple his father-in-law from his throne. Quite remarkably Charles served William, Mary and Anne dying in 1718. By then he was the 1st Duke of Shrewsbury but the title died with him, having no legitimate children.

Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Lichfield

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Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Charlotte Fitzroy was born on 5 September, 1664. By that time Roger Palmer had left his wife, Barbara, so there was no disguising the fact that the little girl was the child of King Charles II. Both Charles and James, Duke of York doted on Charlotte who was as affectionate as she was lovely.

Barbara was less enamoured of any of her children. On occasion she threatened to leave them with their father. And, in one notable instance the glass in the window of her mother’s coach broke while Charlotte was in it. She burst into tears fearing her mother’s wrath. Charles II intervened to prevent the girl from being punished.

When she was only ten years old a marriage was arranged by the Countess of Rochester, who was Edward Lee’s grandmother. The pair were distantly related and a similar age. As soon as the couple were engaged, Edward was created Earl of Lichfield. When the couple were married, the union would be a long and, it seems, very happy one.

In 1676 Charlotte went with her mother and her younger sister Barbara to France where the pair were sent to a convent to be educated along with other members of the English aristocracy. The following year Charles II demanded that he daughter be returned home and married. He provided her and her new husband with a town house designed by Christopher Wren which was known as Lichfield House. Charlotte’s dowry, provided by Charles was £18,000 and he also gave his daughter a pension of £2,000 per year.

By the time she was nineteen years old Charlotte had given her husband four children. Fourteen more would be born. In between caring for her expanding family Charlotte remained a favourite with her father and was often at court. Existing correspondence shows that father and daughter retained close contact throughout Charles II’s life and that he was an affectionate father.

After Charles’ death the couple remained at the heart of the court and Charlotte would be one of the women who testified that her aunt by marriage Mary of Modena had indeed given birth to a son rather than a changeling being introduced. However, she was not present at the birth itself. Because of their loyalty to James II, Charlotte and Edward were not welcome at court in the years following the Glorious Revolution of1689. Instead they spent their time at Edward’s home at Ditchley (Yes – Edward was descended from Queen Elizabeth I’s somewhat scandalous champion, Henry Lee.)

Because Edward remained loyal to the Stuart dynasty they were not permitted to return to court when Charlotte’s cousin Anne ascended the throne.

Edward died in 1716, followed by Charlotte who died two years later, aged fifty-three. She was the only one of Barbara Villiers daughters who did not have a scandal in their lives. The next generation were rather less fortunate and in later times Charlotte could count among her descendants the Mitford Sisters who have to be among the most famous, not to mention most scandalous, sisters of the twentieth century. Also descended from Charlotte and thus Charles II was British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden.

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough – a smooth man

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220px-John_Churchill_Marlborough_porträtterad_av_Adriaen_van_der_Werff_(1659-1722)Winston Churchill, from Devon, was a Cavalier – which wasn’t good news for John born in 1650 as Winston had spent the family money on the king.  However, John received an education at St Paul’s before acquiring a job as a page in the household of the Duke of York.  The methodology was very simply – his sister Arabella was one of James’ ladies.  This was despite the fact that she was deemed a rather plain girl who was a baton the thin side.   In fact there were four little FitzJames’ in the family.

John rose under the patronage of James, then Duke of York but was still short of cash.  This was remedied by a distant relation of his – Barbara Villiers – who also happened to be one of Charles II’s ladies.  Now, Barbara was not what be described as monogamous.  In 1667 when she became pregnant Charles denied paternity as he claimed that he hadn’t been anywhere near the lady at the required time.  Anyway, John was apparently rather a good looking young man and apparently Barbara wasn’t expecting a royal visit so retired for the evening with John only for the king to come a knocking on her door – yes, its the classic lover under the bed story.  Only in this instance to save the lady’s “honour” and possibly his own hide John made a rather daring leap from a first floor window.  Barbara very gratefully handed over £5000.  There is another version of the story that sent John scurrying for a handy cupboard where the king discovered him.. John threw himself to his knees.  Charles is said to have called John a “rascal” but pardoned him his actions because he knew the young man only did it for his “bread.”  Choose the version you prefer.  It is true that Barbara was generous with her young men.

For John though advancement came through his soldiering and his bride.  Young Sarah Jennings came from St Albans.  She came to court when she was about thirteen and living as she did in the household of the Duke of York came into contact with John who fell head over heels in love with the striking red head.  There was a secret marriage – his family required him to marry an heiress but Sarah’s family was not only large it had also been impoverished during the civil war.  The pair only confessed their marriage when Sarah became obviously pregnant.

Meanwhile Sarah had shown Princess Anne kindness during the Earl of Mulgrave scandal and Anne known for her somewhat obsessive friendships drew closer to Sarah.  Sarah’s influence together with Churchill’s victories during the Spanish War of Succession made the couple the wealthiest ex-commoners in the land.  When Sarah Churchill was finally banished from court in 1710 they were drawing an enormous £64,000 from the public purse and their total income was somewhere in the region of £94,000.

Holmes, Richard. (2009)  Marlborough:  Britain’s Greatest General: England’s Fragile Genius