Barbara Villiers

Barbra Villiers (1640-1709).Aka Lady Castlemaine. The first official and at the same time one of the most important mistresses of Charles II.A lady of great ambition for luxury and extravagancy; that managed to reach a position of high power with her witty brains and distinguished beauty.

LIFE

Born at Saint Margret's West Minister as an only child to William Villiers(second Viscount Grandison) and his wife Marry Bayning (co-heiress of Paul Bayning). Orphaned at the age of three with her and her mother left with nothing to sustain themselves, after her father's death. This lead her mother to marry Charles Villiers her late husband's cousin(second Earl of Anglesey). Her family's loyalty was to kingCharles I until his execution in 1649 ,then shifted secretly to his son king Charles II, prince of Wales at the time. At the age of 15 Barbra moved to London where she made it a habit to form close relationships with young males members of the royalty .On the 14th of April 1659 at the age of 19 Barbra married Roger Palmer who later became the Earl of Castlemaine thanks to his wife's affair with the king .By the end of that year the two sailed together to Brussels.

LOVE AFFAIRS

Barbra and her husband Palmer traveled to the Hague to pledge alliance to king Charles II. By 1660 Barbra and king Charles had already began their affair. The lady of Castlemaine was said to have a great influence on the king that she was claimed to be the real unofficial queen. She had six kids but only five of them were declared by king Charles as his. Her first born was a son that she gave birth to in 1662 the same time she was given the position the lady of the bedchamber ,a title that she was proud of .Through the period of her relationship with the king she has received many gifts including her being made the duchess of Cleveland. Yet being with the king didn't restrain her from having other lovers as did the king. This includes her second cousin John Churchill. After experiencing some turbulences in her relationship with the king she rekindled with him as she is said to have spent an evening with him a week before he died in 1685. The Duchess who was 45 years old at the time ,had a love affair with Cardonell Goodman which resulted in the birth of a son.

LAST YEARS AND DEATH

In 1705, after her husband Palmer's death, she married Major General Robert Fielding but that marriage wasn't in her favor as her husband's treatment was considered ill and barbarous due to the fact that he was a greedy fortune hunter. In the year of 1909 on the 9th of October in the Walpole house Barbra died at the age of 68 after a sequence of health deterioration signs including dropsy and eventually a heart failure. But never the less the lady still lives on in many portraits, including that of the famous painter Peter Lely, and literature as one of the most powerful beauties of the royalist women. Her story has also been adapted in many modern medias still adapt her story in theater, films, and television.

Resources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Palmer,_1st_Duchess_of_Cleveland https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Villiers-Duchess-of-Cleveland https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Barbara-Villiers/