Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield
| Charlotte Fitzroy | |
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| Countess of Lichfield Lady Lee, of Quarendon |
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Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Lichfield
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| Spouse(s) | Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield |
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Issue
Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore
Charles Lee, Viscount Quarendon Edward Lee, Viscount Quarendon Captain The Hon. James Lee The Hon. Francis Lee Lady Anne Morgan The Hon. Charles Lee George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield The Hon. Francis Henry Fitzroy Lee Lady Elizabeth Young Barbara Browne, Lady Browne Lady Mary Lee The Hon. Fitzroy Lee Vice Admiral The Hon. FitzRoy Henry Lee The Hon. William Lee The Hon. Thomas Lee The Hon. John Lee Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield |
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| Noble family | Stuart |
| Father | Charles II of England |
| Mother | Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland |
| Born | 5 September 1664 |
| Died | 17 February 1718 (aged 53) |
Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield (5 September 1664 – 17 February 1718), formerly Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England by one of his best known mistresses, Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
She was the fourth child and second daughter of Barbara Palmer née Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine who was by then separated but still married to Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine. Castlemaine did not father any of his wife's children; rather, Charlotte and her siblings were the illegitimate offspring of their mother's royal lover, Charles II. The king acknowledged her as his daughter and so she bore the surname of Fitzroy – "son of the King".
She was the favourite niece of James, Duke of York, younger brother of Charles II, who would later reign as James II. "We know but little of her except that she was beautiful;" she "rivaled her mother in beauty, but was far unlike her in every other respect." As the Duchess of Cleveland was known for her diabolical nature, the implication here is that Charlotte was a sweet-tempered and pleasing person; one memoirist attests to that assumption, describing Lady Lichfield as "a very good and virtuous lady." It is said that the king had a greater value and love for this lady than he had for his other children.
On 16 May 1674, before her tenth birthday, Lady Charlotte was contracted to Sir Edward Lee, and married on 6 February 1677 at twelve years of age. When Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox died in 1673, Sir Edward was created Earl of Lichfield.
Together they had eighteen children:
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