Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Encyclopedia
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland ( – 9 October 1709) was an English courtesan
and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses
of King Charles II of England
, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled. Her influence was so great that she has been referred to as "The Uncrowned Queen." Her immediate contemporary was Madame de Montespan, mistress of King Louis XIV of France
.
Barbara was the subject of many portraits, in particular by court painter Sir Peter Lely
. Her extravagance, foul temper and promiscuity provoked diarist John Evelyn
into describing her as the "curse of the nation".
She converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
in 1663.
, London, she was the only child of the 2nd Viscount Grandison
, William Villiers (a half-nephew of the 1st Duke of Buckingham
), and his wife, Mary Bayning, heiress of the 1st Viscount Bayning
. On 20 September 1643, her father died in the English Civil War
from a wound sustained at the Battle of Newbury
while fighting for the Royalists
. He had spent his considerable fortune on horses and ammunition for his Cavalier
regiment; his widow and daughter were left in straitened circumstances. Shortly after Lord Grandison's death, Barbara's mother the Lady Mary remarried to Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey
, a cousin of her late husband.
Upon the 1649 execution of King Charles I
, the impoverished Villiers clan secretly transferred their loyalty to his son, Charles. Every year on 29 May, the new King's birthday, young Barbara, along with her family, descended to the cellar of their home in total darkness and clandestinely drank to his health. At that time, Charles was wandering about the Continent, exiled and penniless.
, but he was searching for a rich wife; he would wed Elizabeth Butler
in 1660. On 14 April 1659 she married Roger Palmer
(later 1st Earl of Castlemaine) against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world. Palmer was a Roman Catholic. The two separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son. They remained married for his lifetime, but it is believed that Palmer did not father any of his wife's children. http://web.archive.org/web/20070108083555/http://www.arikah.com/encyclopedia/Barbara_Villiers,_Duchess_of_Cleveland
Barbara became King Charles's mistress in 1660, while still married to Palmer, and whilst Charles was still in exile at The Hague
. The Palmers had joined the ambitious group of supplicants who sailed for Brussels at the end of 1659. As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and Earl of Castlemaine
in 1661. In many contemporary accounts, including Pepys's Diary, she is referred to as "Lady Castlemaine".
Of her six children, five were acknowledged by Charles as his:
,_duchess_of_cleveland_by_sir_peter_lely.jpg)
By 1662, Barbara, the King's mistress, had more influence at the court than his queen consort, Catherine of Braganza
. In point of fact, Barbara chose to give birth to their second child at Hampton Court Palace
while he and the Queen were honeymooning. In the summer of 1662 she was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber
despite opposition from Queen Catherine and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
, one advisor to the King and a bitter enemy of Barbara's. Behind closed doors, Barbara and the Queen feuded constantly.
Barbara's influence over the King waxed and waned. Her victory in being appointed as Lady of the Bedchamber was followed by rumours of an estrangement between her and the King, the result of his infatuation with Frances Stuart
. In December 1663, Barbara announced her conversion to Roman Catholicism. Historians disagree as to why she did so. Some believe it was an attempt to consolidate her position with the King, and some believe it was a way of strengthening her ties with her Catholic husband.
In June 1670 Charles created her Baroness Nonsuch (as she was the owner of Nonsuch Palace
). She was also, briefly, granted the ownership of Phoenix Park
in Dublin as a present from the King. She was made Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland
in her own right. However, no one at court was sure if this was an indication that she was being jettisoned by Charles, or whether this was a sign that she was even higher in his favours. The dukedom was made with a special remainder which allowed it to be passed to her eldest son, Charles FitzRoy
, despite his illegitimacy.
called her "the curse of the nation"; yet, others described her as great fun, keeping a good table and with a heart to match her famous temper. Lady Barbara took advantage of her influence over the King, using it to her own benefit. She would help herself to money from the Privy Purse
and take bribes from the Spanish and the French. She was famously extravagant and promiscuous. She also meddled in politics, supporting the Second Dutch War (declared in February 1665), along with most of the court and Parliament. But there are accounts of exceptional kindness from Barbara; once, after a scaffold had fallen onto a crowd of people at the theatre, she rushed to assist an injured child, and was the only court lady to have done so.
. Her lovers benefited financially from the arrangement; Churchill purchased an annuity with £5,000 Barbara gave him. As the result of the 1673 Test Act
, which essentially banned Catholics from holding office, Barbara lost her position as Lady of the Bedchamber, and the King cast her aside completely from her position as mistress, taking Louise de Kéroualle as his newest "favourite."
In 1676 she travelled to Paris with her four youngest children, but returned to England four years later. After Charles II's death in 1685, Barbara, aged forty-five, began an affair with Cardonell Goodman, an actor of terrible reputation, and in March 1686 she gave birth his child. In 1705 Roger Palmer died, and she married Major-General Robert "Beau" Fielding
, an unscrupulous fortune-hunter whom she later had prosecuted for bigamy
. She died at the age of 68 on 9 October 1709 at Chiswick
Mall after suffering from an oedema
, known at the time as dropsy.
, Sir Anthony Eden
, British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957 and Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley
.
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses
Royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or senior Royal. Some mistresses have had considerable power. The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of political and dynastic...
of King Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled. Her influence was so great that she has been referred to as "The Uncrowned Queen." Her immediate contemporary was Madame de Montespan, mistress of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
.
Barbara was the subject of many portraits, in particular by court painter Sir Peter Lely
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
. Her extravagance, foul temper and promiscuity provoked diarist John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
into describing her as the "curse of the nation".
She converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
in 1663.
Early life
Born Barbara Villiers at the parish of St. Margaret's, WestminsterSt. Margaret's, Westminster
The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London...
, London, she was the only child of the 2nd Viscount Grandison
Viscount Grandison
Viscount Grandison of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Oliver St John, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, with special remainder to the male issue of his niece Barbara, wife of Sir Edward Villiers, elder half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham,...
, William Villiers (a half-nephew of the 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
), and his wife, Mary Bayning, heiress of the 1st Viscount Bayning
Viscount Bayning
Viscount Bayning, of Sudbury in the County of Suffolk, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 8 March 1628 for Paul Bayning, 1st Baron Bayning...
. On 20 September 1643, her father died in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
from a wound sustained at the Battle of Newbury
First Battle of Newbury
The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex...
while fighting for the Royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
. He had spent his considerable fortune on horses and ammunition for his Cavalier
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
regiment; his widow and daughter were left in straitened circumstances. Shortly after Lord Grandison's death, Barbara's mother the Lady Mary remarried to Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey
Earl of Anglesey
The title of Earl of Anglesey was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1623 when Christopher Villiers was created Earl of Anglesey, in Wales, as well as Baron Villiers. He was the younger brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and the elder brother of John...
, a cousin of her late husband.
Upon the 1649 execution of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, the impoverished Villiers clan secretly transferred their loyalty to his son, Charles. Every year on 29 May, the new King's birthday, young Barbara, along with her family, descended to the cellar of their home in total darkness and clandestinely drank to his health. At that time, Charles was wandering about the Continent, exiled and penniless.
King's mistress
Tall, voluptuous, with masses of auburn hair, slanting, heavy-lidded blue-violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth, Barbara Villiers was considered to be one of the most beautiful of the Royalist women, but her lack of fortune left her with reduced marriage prospects. Her first serious romance was with Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of ChesterfieldPhilip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield PC was a peer in the peerage of England.-Personal life:He was the son of Henry Stanhope, Lord Stanhope and his wife, Katherine Wotton. He inherited the title of Earl of Chesterfield on the death of his grandfather in 1656...
, but he was searching for a rich wife; he would wed Elizabeth Butler
Elizabeth Butler Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield
Elizabeth Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield was the second wife of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, and the eldest daughter of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Lady Elizabeth Preston.-Marriage:...
in 1660. On 14 April 1659 she married Roger Palmer
Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine
Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine PC was an English courtier, diplomat, and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660. He was also a noted Catholic writer...
(later 1st Earl of Castlemaine) against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world. Palmer was a Roman Catholic. The two separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son. They remained married for his lifetime, but it is believed that Palmer did not father any of his wife's children. http://web.archive.org/web/20070108083555/http://www.arikah.com/encyclopedia/Barbara_Villiers,_Duchess_of_Cleveland
Barbara became King Charles's mistress in 1660, while still married to Palmer, and whilst Charles was still in exile at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. The Palmers had joined the ambitious group of supplicants who sailed for Brussels at the end of 1659. As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and Earl of Castlemaine
Earl of Castlemaine
The Earldom of Castlemaine was a title created in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created for Roger Palmer, the husband of Barbara Palmer , mistress to King Charles II. The Earl was also given the title Baron Limerick....
in 1661. In many contemporary accounts, including Pepys's Diary, she is referred to as "Lady Castlemaine".
Of her six children, five were acknowledged by Charles as his:
- Lady Anne Palmer, later FitzRoyAnne Lennard, Countess of SussexAnne Lennard, Countess of Sussex , formerly Lady Anne Palmer, alias Fitzroy, was the eldest daughter of Barbara Palmer née Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, and most likely Charles II of England or Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield.-Biography:She was born Anne Palmer on 25 February 1661...
(1661–1722), probably daughter of Charles II, although some people believed she bore a resemblance to the Earl of ChesterfieldPhilip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of ChesterfieldPhilip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield PC was a peer in the peerage of England.-Personal life:He was the son of Henry Stanhope, Lord Stanhope and his wife, Katherine Wotton. He inherited the title of Earl of Chesterfield on the death of his grandfather in 1656...
. She later became the Countess of Sussex. - Charles Palmer, later FitzRoyCharles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of ClevelandCharles Palmer, later FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, Chief Butler of England , styled Baron Limerick before 1670 and Earl of Southampton between 1670 and 1675, was the eldest son of Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine and the illegitimate son of King...
(1662–1730), styled Lord Limerick and later Earl of Southampton, created Duke of Southampton (1675), later 2nd Duke of ClevelandDuke of ClevelandDuke of Cleveland is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England....
(1709) - Henry FitzRoyHenry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of GraftonHenry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton KG was the illegitimate son of King Charles II by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine....
(1663–1690), created Earl of Euston (1672) and Duke of GraftonDuke of GraftonDuke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for his 2nd illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland, Henry FitzRoy...
(1675) - Charlotte FitzRoyCharlotte Lee, Countess of LichfieldCharlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield , formerly Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England by one of his most notorious mistresses, Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland-Family:She was the fourth child and second daughter of Barbara Palmer née Villiers,...
(1664–1718), later Countess of LichfieldEarl of LichfieldEarl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times in British history. Lord Bernard Stewart, youngest son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, was to be created Earl of Lichfield by Charles I for his actions at the battles of Newbury and Naseby but died before the creation could...
. She gave birth to twenty children. - George FitzRoyGeorge FitzRoy, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandLieutenant-General George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC was the third and youngest illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mother Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine...
(1665–1716), created Earl of NorthumberlandEarl of NorthumberlandThe title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders were the House of Percy , who were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages...
(1674) and Duke of NorthumberlandDuke of NorthumberlandThe Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
(1683) - Barbara (Benedicta) FitzRoyBarbara FitzroyLady Barbara FitzRoy was the sixth and youngest child of Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress of Charles II of England. Although Charles publicly acknowledged her as his child, he was probably not the father...
(1672–1737) - Barbara Villiers claimed that she was Charles' daughter, but she was probably the child of her mother's second cousin and lover, John ChurchillJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of MarlboroughJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
, later Duke of Marlborough
Lady of the Bedchamber
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
. In point of fact, Barbara chose to give birth to their second child at Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
while he and the Queen were honeymooning. In the summer of 1662 she was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the British Royal Household...
despite opposition from Queen Catherine and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
, one advisor to the King and a bitter enemy of Barbara's. Behind closed doors, Barbara and the Queen feuded constantly.
Barbara's influence over the King waxed and waned. Her victory in being appointed as Lady of the Bedchamber was followed by rumours of an estrangement between her and the King, the result of his infatuation with Frances Stuart
Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox
Frances Teresa Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox was a prominent member of the Court of the Restoration and famous for refusing to become a mistress of Charles II...
. In December 1663, Barbara announced her conversion to Roman Catholicism. Historians disagree as to why she did so. Some believe it was an attempt to consolidate her position with the King, and some believe it was a way of strengthening her ties with her Catholic husband.
In June 1670 Charles created her Baroness Nonsuch (as she was the owner of Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
). She was also, briefly, granted the ownership of Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
in Dublin as a present from the King. She was made Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England....
in her own right. However, no one at court was sure if this was an indication that she was being jettisoned by Charles, or whether this was a sign that she was even higher in his favours. The dukedom was made with a special remainder which allowed it to be passed to her eldest son, Charles FitzRoy
Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland
Charles Palmer, later FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton, Chief Butler of England , styled Baron Limerick before 1670 and Earl of Southampton between 1670 and 1675, was the eldest son of Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine and the illegitimate son of King...
, despite his illegitimacy.
Character
Barbara was known for her dual nature. Diarist John EvelynJohn Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
called her "the curse of the nation"; yet, others described her as great fun, keeping a good table and with a heart to match her famous temper. Lady Barbara took advantage of her influence over the King, using it to her own benefit. She would help herself to money from the Privy Purse
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's remaining private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £13.3 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2009. The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. It also has...
and take bribes from the Spanish and the French. She was famously extravagant and promiscuous. She also meddled in politics, supporting the Second Dutch War (declared in February 1665), along with most of the court and Parliament. But there are accounts of exceptional kindness from Barbara; once, after a scaffold had fallen onto a crowd of people at the theatre, she rushed to assist an injured child, and was the only court lady to have done so.
Downfall
While the King had taken other mistresses, the most notable being the actress Nell Gwynne, Barbara took other lovers too, including the acrobat Jacob Hall and her second cousin John ChurchillJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
. Her lovers benefited financially from the arrangement; Churchill purchased an annuity with £5,000 Barbara gave him. As the result of the 1673 Test Act
Test Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists...
, which essentially banned Catholics from holding office, Barbara lost her position as Lady of the Bedchamber, and the King cast her aside completely from her position as mistress, taking Louise de Kéroualle as his newest "favourite."
In 1676 she travelled to Paris with her four youngest children, but returned to England four years later. After Charles II's death in 1685, Barbara, aged forty-five, began an affair with Cardonell Goodman, an actor of terrible reputation, and in March 1686 she gave birth his child. In 1705 Roger Palmer died, and she married Major-General Robert "Beau" Fielding
Robert Fielding
Robert Fielding was an English bigamist and rake in the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
, an unscrupulous fortune-hunter whom she later had prosecuted for bigamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
. She died at the age of 68 on 9 October 1709 at Chiswick
Chiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
Mall after suffering from an oedema
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
, known at the time as dropsy.
Descendants
Barbara had many notable descendants, including Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Sir Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
, British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957 and Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley
Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley
Serena Alleyne Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley is an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and a member, by marriage, of the extended British Royal Family. She was born in Limerick, Ireland.-Background:...
.
In literature
- Barbara is the protagonist in the book Royal Harlot (2007) by Susan Holloway ScottSusan Holloway ScottSusan Holloway Scott is an American author of historical fiction who also writes historical romance novels under the pen name Miranda Jarrett.-Biography:...
. - Barbara Villiers figures prominently in Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's play In Good King Charles's Golden Days. - Barbara is the protagonist in Royal Mistress, by Patricia Campbell Horton (1977)
- Barbara Palmer née Villiers, as Countess of Castlemaine, features prominently in Kathleen Winsor's scandalous 1944 bestseller Forever AmberForever AmberForever Amber is a romance novel by Kathleen Winsor set in 17th-century England. It was made into a film in 1947 by 20th Century Fox.-Plot:Forever Amber tells the story of orphaned Amber St...
. - Barbara features largely in A Health Unto His Majesty, by Jean PlaidyEleanor HibbertEleanor Hibbert was a British author who wrote under various pen names. Her best-known pseudonyms were Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, and Philippa Carr; she also wrote under the names Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anne Percival, and Ellalice Tate...
(1956)
In film and television
- In the 1911 film, Sweet Nell of Old DrurySweet Nell of Old DrurySweet Nell of Old Drury is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. It is based on the 1900 play of the same name by Paul Kester...
, Barbara is played by Agnes Keogh - In the 1922 film, The Glorious Adventure, Barbara is played by Elizabeth Beerbohm
- In the 1926 film, Nell Gwynne, Barbara is played by Juliette Compton
- In the 1934 film, Colonel Blood, Barbara is played by Anne Grey
- In the 1947 film, Forever AmberForever AmberForever Amber is a romance novel by Kathleen Winsor set in 17th-century England. It was made into a film in 1947 by 20th Century Fox.-Plot:Forever Amber tells the story of orphaned Amber St...
, Barbara is played by Natalie Draper - In the 1969 mini-series, The First ChurchillsThe First ChurchillsThe First Churchills was a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough...
, Barbara is played by Moira Redmond - In the 1974 TV series, Churchill's People, Barbara is played by Diana Rayworth
- In the 1989 film, The Lady And The Highwayman, Barbara is played by Emma SammsEmma SammsEmma Samms is a British television actress best known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera General Hospital and for replacing Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon Carrington Colby on the primetime soap opera Dynasty.-Early life:Samms was born in Willesden, London, England, the...
- In the 1995 film, England, My England, Barbara is played by Letitia DeanLetitia DeanLetitia Dean is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Sharon Watts in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, who was one of the serial's original characters. Dean was part of the original cast in 1985 and remained in the series until 1995...
- In the 2003 mini-series, Charles II: The Power & The Passion, Barbara is played by Helen McCroryHelen McCroryHelen Elizabeth McCrory is a British actress. She portrayed Cherie Blair in both the 2006 film The Queen and the 2010 film The Special Relationship. She also portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films....
- In the 2009 film, Broadside, Barbara is played by Antonia Kinley