Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland
| Barbara Palmer | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Henri Gascar
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| Born |
Barbara Villiers 27 November 1640 (17 November Old Style) Parish of St. Margaret's, City and Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 9 October 1709 (aged 68) Chiswick Mall, Chiswick |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Lady of the Bedchamber |
| Title | Duchess of Cleveland Countess of Castlemaine |
| Children |
Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland Barbara FitzRoy |
| Parent(s) | William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison Mary Bayning |
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland (27 November [O.S. 17 November] 1640 – 9 October 1709), also known by her marital title as Countess of Castlemaine, was an English royal mistress from the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of whom were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled. Her influence was so great that she has been referred to as "The Uncrowned Queen."Madame de Montespan, mistress of King Louis XIV of France was her contemporary.
Barbara was the subject of many portraits, in particular by court painter Sir Peter Lely. Her extravagance, foul temper and promiscuity provoked diarist John Evelyn into describing her as the "curse of the nation", whereas Samuel Pepys often noted seeing her, admiringly.
Barbara's first cousin Elizabeth Villiers (later 1st Countess of Orkney 1657–1733) was the presumed mistress of King William III.
She converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism in 1663.
Born into the Villiers family as Barbara Villiers at the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, she was the only child of the 2nd Viscount Grandison, William Villiers (a half-nephew of the 1st Duke of Buckingham), and his wife, Mary Bayning, heiress of Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning. On 20 September 1643, her father died in the English Civil War from a wound sustained at the Battle of Newbury while fighting for the Royalists. He had spent his considerable fortune on horses and ammunition for his Cavalier regiment; his widow and daughter were left in straitened circumstances. Shortly after Lord Grandison's death, Barbara's mother married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, a cousin of her late husband.
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Wikipedia