1640 - 1709
This month I've elected Barbara Villiers to our list of Royal Mistresses. Barbara, who lived in 17th century England, had many admirers in her lifetime and she was apparently aware of her beauty as a young enchantress and suffered the reputation of being a 'whore.' She became, significantly, the favorite of King Charles II for a decade or more, and for a time had such influence over him that she was called 'The Uncrowned Queen" or, said, with some sarcasm, "The Lady." Not married at the time that he began his relationship with Barbara, the King did marry Catherine of Braganza, of Portugal. The pretty but dull new Queen, who brought significant wealth and political alliances with her, tried to turn her arranged marriage into a true love match but failed.. He married her about the same time that Barbara was in advanced pregnancy with her second child, with unchallenged paternity by the King. But then, Barbara likely had an involvement before her marriage. In fact, she might have become the mistress of the King before she was married.
Born in 1640, about the time that the English Civil War, Barbara Villiers' noble family, who made their fortune in sheep, became impoverished because of it. Her family had been ennobled and associated with King Charles I before she was born. They were Royalists and it would take some time for the King Charles II to regain power. By the time she was of marriageable age, Barbara had few good marriage prospects and was just one more young Royalist woman, pretty but penniless, who liked to party and had a light hearted attitude towards life. Her first love, a young widower, an Earl, dumped her to marry a rich woman and so it went. But then she did marry, at the age of 19, to Roger Palmer, a Catholic who her family didn't approve of. What could her husband do about her involvement with the King? Not much. So began her career as an important mistress of the King and mother.
The King was savvy. He made Barbara Villiers - Palmer's husband Baron Limerick the Earl of Castlemaine in 1661, thus giving Barbara Palmer the title of 1st Countess of Castlemaine. After she gave birth to a son by the King, Barbara and Roger officially separated but stayed married. All five of the children she had by the King in their decade of relationship would be assumed - by some - to be her husband's offspring. (To this day there is some dispute over it.) The titles would have to be passed down only to Roger's heirs ; Barbara's relationship with the King and these children were not so secret, for the three middle children were also given the name FitzRoy, meaning Illegitimate Royal offspring. In this way, however, Roger Palmer could save face if he needed to and the children would have the financial support needed to raise them. The titles were for Ireland and it was there that Palmer would need to go. Roger Palmer was never known to have a child and, frankly, I do wonder if he knew he was being married to Barbara for practical reasons all along.
She gave birth to Anne in 1661, Charles in 1662, Henry in 1663, George in 1665, and Barbara in 1672. Barbara is the child who there is the strongest suggestion of having yet another birth father. But Barbara, in a volatile argument with the King, demanded that he recognize and support this child too.
What was true? First that more than one man claimed children with her, suggesting that Barbara had many paramours over the years, men in love enough with her to state that a child she gave birth to was theirs, meaning they would want to support that child and see him or her as an heir.
All these hundreds of years later, her descendants include some prominent British people you have heard of ***; Princess Diana and her children, Prince William and Prince Harry through her son, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton and Sarah Ferguson, until recently the Duchess of York, through Barbara's daughter, Lady Anne Palmer, later FitzRoy. (Lady Anne became the Duchess of Sussex!)
The King took other mistresses through the years and is said to have had twelve children, maybe fourteen, with all of them. His wife, the Queen, had three miscarriages and never did give him an heir.
*** This genealogy information culled from Wikipedia.
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