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He was the “merry monarch,” the King who loved nothing more than a romp in the hay and a booze-filled party.
King Charles II is believed to have fathered at least 12 illegitimate children and had numerous mistresses, but never produced an heir with his wife, Catherine of Braganza.
Among his favourite lovers were Barbara Villiers, the actress Nell Gwynn and the beautiful Welshwoman Lucy Walters.
Now, the 17th-century monarch’s relationship with those three women is explored in the fifth episode of the Daily Mail’s new podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things.
Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and his co-presenter Professor Kate Williams examine whether Charles was Britain’s most promiscuous monarch.
Mr Hardman says of Charles: ‘This week, we turn our attention to someone who can only be described as one of the most prolific womanisers in royal history.
‘A man who was a fashion innovator, a scientific innovator, a man who ushered in a new era of hedonism and partying.
‘A man whose illegitimate children numbered at least a dozen, and whose sexual appetite drew comparisons to a racehorse.’
Listen to the latest episode: Was King Charles II Britain’s most sex-crazed monarch?
The extraordinary promiscuity of King Charles II is explored in the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast. Above: Rufus Sewell as the monarch alongside Emma Pierson as his mistress Nell Gwynn in the 2003 BBC series Charles II: The Power and the Passion
King Charles II (pictured) was born at St James’s Palace on 29 May 1630 and was the eldest surviving son of Charles I.
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Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, was perhaps Charles’s best-known mistress.
Known for her sensational beauty, she gave birth to five of the King’s illegitimate children.
She had joined Charles’s court while he was still in exile in Holland, so by the time he became king when the monarchy was restored in 1660, Barbara already had a fixed place in his affections.
Charles got her pregnant even before he married Catherine of Braganza, and then named Barbara his wife’s maid of honor.
She eventually fell out of favour when the King turned his affections to the actress Nell Gwynn, who had worked as an orange seller in Drury Lane.
The Duke of Buckingham, eager to usurp Barbara’s dominant position at court, had presented the beautiful Nell to the king in the hope that he would fall in love with her.
The king was so in love with her that he kept a nude portrait of her in a secret compartment in his bedroom.
She also gave birth to his children and received money and titles. The king even made sure that she received what she needed after his death.
And he named his son Duke of St Albans after being horrified by the way she referred to him as a “little idiot” in front of him.
Charles had lost his virginity to his former nurse, Christaballa Wyndham, when he was 15 and she was in her 30s.
But his first lover was – when he was 18 and in exile – Lucy Walter.
His relationship with the beautiful Welsh woman led to the birth of James, whom the king named Duke of Monmouth.
But two years into their relationship, Charles left the continent for Scotland, where he hoped to regain his birthright.
He podcast It is introduced by Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams.
Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, was perhaps Charles’s best-known mistress.
Actress Nell Gwynn, who had risen through the ranks as an orange seller in Drury Lane,
Charles’ first mistress was the beautiful Welshwoman Lucy Walter. Their relationship led to the birth of James, Duke of Monmouth.
Lucy refused to give up her romance and the King’s friends persuaded her to return to England in exchange for an annual allowance.
But Oliver Cromwell, who then ruled England as Lord Protector, had her arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
She was later released and, penniless, was sent back to the Netherlands.
Professor Williams calls her treatment “shady” and questions why Lucy was sent to England when Charles’s friends knew Cromwell would be suspicious of her.
As she and Mr. Hardman reveal in the podcastHer relationship with the King did not have a happy ending.
His son, the Duke of Monmouth, would launch a rebellion against Charles’s successor and brother, King James II.
Meanwhile, while the King was frolicking with his lovers, his wife had been sidelined.
Representation of King Charles II with his lovers Nell Gwynn, Louise de Kérouaille and Hortense Mancini by the artist Kitty Shannon
The Portuguese queen had tried to prevent her mistress Barbara from becoming her lady-in-waiting, but the king insisted and even cruelly sent her Portuguese ladies who were waiting for her home.
Professor Williams says: “It’s a very hard life. And besides, she knows that people don’t like her because she’s Catholic.
‘She knows that people think she influences the King because she is Catholic.’
Hardman adds: “It’s interesting for Kate to think about these two sides of Charles II. There’s the fun-loving, party-going monarch, but there’s also a very dark side.”
Louis XIV of France, well aware of the king’s libido, sent the beautiful Louise de Kérouaille to influence his rival.
He was entrusted with the task of promoting the interests of France and Catholicism while lying with the King.
But during a night of debauchery with Louise and two other lovers in 1685, the King fell seriously ill and had to be treated by royal doctors.
George Sanders as King Charles II alongside Linda Darnell as the character Amber St Clair in the 1947 film Forever Amber
But the “cures” administered by the doctors did not help the patient, but instead caused him great agony.
The king died four days later, on 6 February 1685. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
As he left no heir, his brother James II succeeded him to the throne.
To hear the experts’ overall verdict on Charles, listen Episode five of Queens, Kings and Cowardly Things – launching today – wherever you get your podcasts.
Robert Hardman is the author of books such as Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II and Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.
Professor Kate Williams is the author of the recent book The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals, along with many other works.
King Charles II: The Merry Monarch
Charles was born at St James’s Palace in 1630. By the time he was 19, his father, King Charles I, had been executed by order of Parliament.
Young Charles fled to Europe before initially returning to the British Isles in 1650, when he landed in Scotland and was crowned at Scone.
However, his forces were defeated at the Battle of Worcester, so Charles had to flee again.
He spent weeks on the run across England, at one point hiding in a large oak tree at Boscobel House in Shropshire.
Charles was born at St James’s Palace in 1630. By the time he was 19, his father, King Charles I, had been executed by order of Parliament.
It is for this reason that hundreds of pubs across Britain are called The Royal Oak.
Charles reached the relative safety of France before having the opportunity to return following Cromwell’s death in 1658.
When Cromwell’s son Richard resigned as his successor, Parliament decided to restore the monarchy in 1660.
Charles became king and set about seeking revenge against those held responsible for his father’s murder.
He was on the throne during the tumult of a major plague outbreak that killed 100,000 people and then the Great Fire of London in 1666.
His reign was characterized by a debauchery that contrasted markedly with the puritanism of Cromwell’s rule as Lord Protector.
While theatres and pubs (and Christmas) were banned under Cromwell, Charles oversaw the joyous return of drink, gambling and other forms of excess.
He ruled until his death in 1685, when he was succeeded by his brother, King James II.