Louise de Querouaille

Louise Renée de Penancoët de Quérouaille/Kérouaille/Kéroualle was born in September 1649 (Brittany, France) and died on the 14th of November 1739 (Paris, France). She was made Duchess of Portsmouth, Countess of Fareham and Lady Petersfield in 1673 and was a mistress of Charles II of England.

French Origin

Louise was born in France, daughter of Guillaume de Penancoët, Sieur de Kéroualle and was rumored to be a French spy. Although Louis XIV might have thought of her as a weapon, she didn’t fulfill her task of being a Trojan horse. Overall, the French authorities supported the affair with Charles II. She had a great Francophile influence at English court. By becoming a mistress to Charles II, the duchess established the ground of future Anglo-French alliance. At French court, she was named “La Belle Bretonne”.

Beginning of becoming a mistress to Charles II

Louise was a maid in the household of Henriette Anne Stuart in 1668. She had accompanied her, the king’s sister who also was the sister-in-law of Louis XIV, to England in 1670. She first met Charles in his sister’s train at Dover in 1672. When his sister died, the king made her his “lady-in-waiting” for his wife Catharine of Braganza whom he had married in 1662. Charles II claimed that he was not attracted to her. He called her “Fubbs” which means plump or chubby. She also had a heart-shaped face, a small mouth, a long nose and was not regarded as sexually attractive.

Being a mistress to Charles II.

She arrived at court in England in 1670 and lost her virginity to the king. She gave birth to her son in July 1672 after the seduction in October 1671 at Euston Hall. He was named Charles Lennox and was one of the last official bastards. Furthermore, he was made Duke of Richmond.

Since she grew up with poor parents, she recognized the importance of money. Louise even manipulated Danby to sign documents to make her son gain precedence over another mistress, Barbara Palmer. It is rumored that she made more than £10,000 per year. Additionally, she was given a total of 24 rooms and 16 garrets.

Louise wanted to marry the king to make her son the heir of the king, but he was not interested. She was associated with tears and hysterics and called “weeping willow” or “Squintabella” by Nell Gwynn who happened to be her rival. The Duchess of Portsmouth was a manipulator: she threatened suicide to avoid losing Charles’ favor. She was different to other mistresses because of her finesse and domesticity. Charles was not a romantic, he was rather looking for a confidante which is the reason why she failed being a Trojan horse to Louis XIV. She stayed with him until his death, consequently she is described as “mistress of his declining years”. After Charles’ death on the 6th of February of 1685, she went back to France.

Relationship with Catharine of Braganza

As opposed to Barbara Palmer, the duchess was purposefully very respectful to the Queen. Hence, Catharine protected her from the Test Act of 1678. The Queen put her name on a list of people who should not be harmed.

Catholicism

Louise was Catholic. Her behavior towards the King and Queen is rumored to be politically motivated since she entered the court during a difficult period between Protestants and Catholics. Although Charles II was personally tolerant towards Catholics, it was different as King. The choice of a new Catholic mistress was not fortunate. Additionally, she was French which worried the people of England.

References

• Abbott, Wilbur C. “The Long Parliament of Charles II (Continued).” The English Historical Review, vol. 21, no. 81, 1906, pp. 21–56. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/549415. Accessed 21 Nov. 2022.
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Louise-Renée de Kéroualle, duchess of Portsmouth". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louise-Renee-de-Keroualle-Duchess-of-Portsmouth. Accessed 21 November 2022.
• Ferguson, Abbey. "THE UNCROWNED QUEENS." (2016). https://ec.msvu.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/013f446f-4f42-4ce7-b510-2bb565d984b1/content.
• Fraser, Antonia. King Charles II. Hachette UK, 2011.
• Melo, João Vicente. “Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705).” Lives in Transit in Early Modern England: Identity and Belonging, edited by Nandini Das, Amsterdam University Press, 2022, pp. 61–68. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2fzkpnj.12. Accessed 21 Nov. 2022.