Moll Davis

Moll Davis
Moll Davis, portrait after Sir Peter Lely, circa 1665-1670
Born	c. 1648 Westminster, London, England
Died	1708
Occupation	Courtesan, singer, actress, dancer, comedian
Known for	Mistress of Charles II of England
Spouse(s)	James Paisible

Mary "Moll" Davis (also Davies or Davys; ca. 1648 – 1708) was a seventeenth-century entertainer and courtesan, singer, and actress who became one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England.

Davis was born around 1648 in Westminster and was said by Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist, to be "a bastard of Collonell Howard, my Lord Barkeshire" - probably meaning Thomas Howard, third Earl of Berkshire, although her parentage has also been attributed to Robert's older brother Charles, the second Earl.

During the early 1660s she was an actress in the 'Duke's Theatre Company' and boarded with the company's manager, Sir William Davenant.

She became a popular singer, dancer and comedian, but the wife of Pepys called her "the most impertinent slut in the world".

Davis met King Charles II in a theatre or coffee-house in about 1667.

She flaunted the wealth she acquired from her association with Charles, and gained a reputation for vulgarity and greed. She showed off her "mighty pretty fine coach" (Pepys:) and a ring worth £600, in those days a vast sum.

Davis gave up the stage in 1668 and in 1669 had a daughter by Charles, Lady Mary Tudor, who became famous in her own right. Later, Charles dismissed Davis, possibly due to some chicanery by Nell Gwynne, a major rival for the King's affections. Davis did not leave empty-handed however: Charles awarded her an annual pension for life of £1,000. In January, 1667–68, Pepys notes that the King had furnished a house for Moll Davis, the actress, "in Suffolke Street most richly, which is a most infinite shame." At the time this street belonged to James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk and 3rd Lord de Walden, a nephew of Thomas Howard, Moll's natural father. Mary Davis is given in the rate books for 1672-3 but not earlier.