Lucy Walter

Lucy Walter
Born	c. 1630 Roch Castle, Wales
Died	1658 (aged 27–28) Paris, France
Children	James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth Mary Crofts
Parent(s)	William Walter Elizabeth Protheroe

Lucy Walter or Lucy Barlow (c. 1630 – 1658) was a Welsh mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. She is believed to have been born in 1630 or a little later at Roch Castle near Haverfordwest, Wales into a family of middling gentry.

The question of whether King Charles had secretly married Lucy Walter was raised during the Exclusion Crisis, when a Protestant faction wished to make her son the heir to the throne, while the king denied any marriage, and supported the claim of his brother, the Duke of York.

During the exclusion crisis [the possible marriage of Charles and Lucy] offered the Whigs the easiest way of excluding the Duke of York from the throne, while in 1685 it legitimized those who took up arms for Monmouth against James II. For these reasons Lucy Walter's short life is important as it explains why most of the political nation considered that a marriage between her and Charles was highly unlikely, but shows too that there were some straws available for the pro-marriage party to make use of.

Lucy Walter was born into a family of middling Welsh gentry. She was the daughter of William Walter (died 1650) of Roch Castle, near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, and his wife Elizabeth (died 1652), daughter of John Prothero and niece of John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery. She is said to have been born at Roch Castle in 1630. In 1644, the castle having been taken and destroyed by the parliamentary forces, she sought refuge in London, whence she took shipping for The Hague. Algernon Sidney told James, Duke of York, that he had given fifty gold pieces for her, but, having to join his regiment hastily, had missed his bargain. His brother, Colonel Robert Sidney secured the prize, but did not retain it long.

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