Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Barbara Villiers, by Sir Peter Lely.
Barbara Villiers, by Sir Peter Lely.

Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland [1] (12 May 1641 Old Style–9 October 1709) was a royal courtesan and one of the most notorious of King Charles II's mistresses.

Contents

[edit] Early life

She was born Barbara Villiers,on the 12th of May 1641 (22 May New Style),in the parish of St.Margaret's, Westminster, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison (making her a cousin of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham), and the heiress Mary Bayning, daughter of the 1st Viscounts Bayning. Her paternal grandparents were Sir Edward Villiers and Barbara St.John. Her maternal grandparents were Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning and Anne Glemham.[1] On 20 September 1643 Lord Grandison died from a wound sustained at The Battle of Newbury during The English Civil War, while fighting for the Royalists, leaving his widow and daughter in straitened circumstances.

[edit] King's Mistress

Tall, voluptuous with masses of auburn hair, slanting, heavy-lidded blue-violet eyes, and a sensuous, sulky mouth,[2] Barbara Villiers was considered at the time to be one of the most beautiful 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, but he was searching for a rich wife; he would wed Elizabeth Butler in 1660.[3] On 14 April 1659 she married Roger Palmer against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world. Palmer was a Roman Catholic. The two separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son. They remained married for his lifetime, but it is believed that Palmer did not father any of his wife's children. [2]

She became King Charles's mistress in 1660, while still married to Palmer, and whilst Charles was still in exile at The Hague . As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and Earl of Castlemaine in 1661. Of her six children, five were acknowledged by Charles as his:

  1. 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. She later became the Countess of Sussex
  2. Charles Palmer, later FitzRoy (1662-1730), styled Lord Limerick and later Earl of Southampton, created Duke of Southampton (1675), later 2nd Duke of Cleveland (1709)
  3. Henry FitzRoy (1663-1690), created Earl of Euston (1672) and Duke of Grafton (1675)
  4. Charlotte FitzRoy (1664-1718), later Countess of Lichfield. She gave birth to twenty children.
  5. George FitzRoy (1665-1716), created Earl of Northumberland (1674) and Duke of Northumberland (1683)
  6. Barbara (Benedicta) FitzRoy (1672-1737) - Cleveland claimed that she was Charles' daughter, but she was probably the child of her mother's second-cousin and lover, John Churchill, later Duke of Marlborough

[edit] Lady of The Bedchamber

She had a bitter enemy in Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. Clarendon, one of the most powerful of the King's advisors, opposed her appointment in the summer of 1662 as a Lady of the Bedchamber (as did, quite understandably, Catherine of Braganza, Charles's wife and Queen). By 1662 she had more influence in the court than did the Queen, and there were bitter feuds behind the scenes between the two women. This was followed by rumours of an estrangement between Barbara and Charles, as the result of his infatuation with Frances Stuart. In December 1663 Barbara announced her conversion to Catholicism; historians disagree as to the reasons why. Some believe it might have been an attempt to consolidate her position with the King, and some believe it was a way of strengthening her ties with her Catholic husband.

Barbara was famously extravagant. She was notorious for helping herself to money from the Privy Purse, as well as taking bribes from the Spanish and French. She was promiscuous, and well known for using her influence on the king to her own benefit. Eventually this would lead to her downfall. Her influence over the King waxed and waned. She also meddled in politics. Along with most of the Court and Parliament,Barbara supported the Second Dutch War,[4] which was declared in February 1665. Diarist John Evelyn called her "the curse of the nation".[5] Yet others also described her as great fun, keeping a good table and with a heart to match her famous temper. Once, after a scaffold had fallen onto a crowd of people at the theatre, Barbara rushed to assist an injured child. She was the only Court lady to have done so.[6]In June 1670 Charles created her Baroness Nonsuch (being the owner of Nonsuch Palace). She was also, briefly, granted the ownership of Phoenix Park in Dublin as a present from the king. Countess of Southampton and Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. However, no-one in the court was sure whether 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, even though he was illegitimate.

[edit] Downfall

While the King had taken other mistresses, the most notable being the common actress Nell Gwynne, Barbara also took other lovers, including the acrobat Jacob Hall and her second cousin John Churchill. Her lovers certainly benefited financially from the arrangement; Churchill purchased an annuity with £5,000 Barbara had given him. As the result of the 1673 Test Act, which essentially banned all Catholics from holding office, Barbara lost her position as Lady of the Bedchamber, and the King cast her aside completely from her position as mistress, taking Louise de Kéroualle as his newest "favourite."

In 1676 she travelled to Paris with her four youngest children, but returned to England four years later. In 1705 Roger Palmer died, and she married Major-General Robert "Beau" Fielding, an unscrupulous fortune-hunter whom she later had prosecuted for bigamy. She died on 9 October 1709 at Chiswick Mall after suffering from an oedema, known at the time as dropsy.

[edit] Descendants

Barbara had many notable descendants, including Diana, Princess of Wales and Sir Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister from 1955-1957.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Elizabeth Hamilton. The Illustrious Lady : a biography of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland (1980)

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  1. Antonia Fraser "King Charles II"
Regnal titles
Preceded by
New Creation		 Duchess of Cleveland
1670–1709		 Succeeded by
Charles Fitzroy