Charles II's Illegitimate Children: Royal Bastards

By Sarah-Beth Watkins

Charles II had at least twelve illegitimate children that we know of. Although his queen, Catherine of Braganza, fell pregnant several times she was not able to bear any children to full term. The king, who was known for his many mistresses, had his first recognized child out of wedlock in 1649; the child was James Croft who would become Duke of Monmouth and mastermind of an infamous rebellion. Not all of his children would gain such notoriety but they would live long and full lives creating a Stuart bloodline that descends to the present day.

There was Nell Gywn’s son, Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans who was present at the siege of Belgrade in 1688. The French mistress, Louise de Keroualle’s son, Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond who was an early patron of cricket. Catherine Pegge’s son, Charles Fitzcharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth who was a colonel in the King’s Own Royal Regiment and lost his life in Tangier and Moll Davis’ daughter Mary Tudor, Countess of Derwentwater who separated from her husband because she refused to be a Catholic.

Not to mention Charles’s offspring by Barbara Villiers, Lady Castlemaine and later Duchess of Cleveland – there was Anne who had an affair with one of her father’s mistresses, Charles who succeeded to the dukedom of Cleveland, Henry who became vice-admiral of England, George who was in the secret service in Venice, Barbara who after a torrid affair with the Earl of Arran gave birth to illegitimate twins and became a nun in France and Charlotte, who became Countess of Lichfield and had eighteen children!

And then there are the stories of other children like James de la Cloche and Charlotte Boyle whose births and lives are shrouded in mystery and rumor. This book will bring to life the king’s many illegitimate children and tell their stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Oct 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781399000956

Book preview

Charles II’s Illegitimate Children

Charles II’s Illegitimate Children

Royal Bastards

Sarah-Beth Watkins

First published in Great Britain in 2023 by

Pen & Sword History

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire – Philadelphia

Copyright © Sarah-Beth Watkins 2023

ISBN 978 1 39900 094 9

eISBN 978 1 39900 095 6

Kindle 978 1 39900 095 6

The right of Sarah-Beth Watkins to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Contents

Illustrations

The Mistresses and Illegitimate Children of Charles II

Introduction

Chapter 1 James de la Cloche

Chapter 2 James, Duke of Monmouth

Chapter 3 Charlotte, Countess of Yarmouth

Chapter 4 Charles ‘Don Carlos’ Earl of Plymouth

Chapter 5 The Cleveland Sons – Charles, Henry & George

Chapter 6 The Cleveland Daughters – Anne, Charlotte & Barbara

Chapter 7 Charles, Duke of St Albans & James Beauclerk

Chapter 8 Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond

Chapter 9 Lady Mary Tudor, Countess of Derwentwater

Epilogue

Appendix I: A Satire on Charles II by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

Appendix II: James II’s Illegitimate Children

Appendix III: Elizabeth, Viscountess of Shannon’s Inventory of Goods

Notes

Select Bibliography

Illustrations

1. Charles II of England in Coronation Robes by John Michael Wright (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

2. The three oldest children of Charles I: Charles (1630–1685), Mary (1631–1666) and James (1633–1685) by Anthony van Dyck (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

3. King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza with allegories of the four continents, Textile embroidered basket, (Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC1.0)

4. Catherine of Braganza, consort of King Charles II. Mezzotint by H. H. Quiter after P. Lely, 1678. (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

5. Charles II as a young boy, print, Wenceslaus Hollar, after Anthony van Dyck (Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC1.0)

6. King James II; table with a crown in the background. Engraving by P. Landry, 1693 (Wellcome Collection, CC4.0)

7. James, Duke of Monmouth, after Peter Lely (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

8. Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland (1640–1709), Anonymous, c. 1665 and 1680 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

9. The Duchess of Cleveland introducing her son Charles Fitzroy to the King who presents him with his title of Duke of Southampton. In the Oxford Magazine, 1770 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

10. Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) as a Youth, anonymous (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

11. Lady Anne Fitzroy / Countess of Sussex, attributed to the Circle of Anthony van Dyck, c. 1665 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

12. Charles Fitzroy, Duke of Southampton and Cleveland (1662–1730), formerly attributed to William Faithorne (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

13. George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1665–1716), Contemporary portrait, (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

14. Lady Isabella Bennet, Duchess of Grafton (1667 – 1723) and her son Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Earl of Euston, later 2nd Duke of Grafton (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

15. Charlotte Fitzroy, daughter of Charles II, with an Indian servant girl, painted by Peter Lely in 1674 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

16. ‘Nell’ Eleanor Gwyn (Gwynne) (1651–1687), Anonymous, c.1670–1699 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

17. Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726), Duke of St. Albans by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c. 1690–95 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC1.0)

18. Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649–1734), Anonymous, c. between 1700 and 1799 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

19. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond & Lennox (1672–1723) as a Child by Henri Gascar (1635–1701) (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

20. Portrait of Mary Moll Davis (fl.1663–1669) by Mary Beale 1675 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

21. Lady Mary Radcliff, Countess of Derwentwater (also known as Mary Tudor), Painting by Bernard Lens, circa 1700 (National Galleries Scotland, CC 4.0)

22. Thomas Killigrew, painted in 1650 by William Sheppard (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

23. A later drawing of Oxnead Hall, Norfolk by John Swaine (1775–1860), 1884 (Yale Center for British Art, CC1.0)

24. Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield. Engraving by Peter Vanderbank (Vandrebanc), after Simon Verelst line engraving, late 17th century, 1680 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

25. Portrait of Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, circa 1650–1700, watercolour on vellum (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

26. Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy as children, by Jacob Huysmans, 1674 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

27. The Old Palace of Whitehall by Hendrick Danckerts. The view is from the west. Despite appearances this painting shows a single palace. The Banqueting House is on the left. (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

28. Palace of Whitehall – The Water Side by Inigo Jones (Yale Center for British Art, CC1.0)

29. Elizabeth Castle, Jersey (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The Mistresses and Illegitimate Children of Charles II

Margaret de Carteret

• James de la Cloche

Lucy Walter

• James, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch (1649–85)

Elizabeth Killigrew

• Charlotte, Countess of Yarmouth (1651–84)

Catherine Pegge

• Charles, Earl of Plymouth (1657–80)

• Catherine Pegge (daughter) (1658–died young)

Barbara Palmer, née Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland

• Anne, Countess of Sussex (1661–1722)

• Charles, Duke of Southampton (1662–1730)

• Henry, Duke of Grafton (1663–90)

• Charlotte, Countess of Lichfield (1664–1718)

• George, Duke of Northumberland (1665–1715)

• Barbara (1672–1737)

Nell Gwyn

• Charles, Duke of St Albans (1670–1726)

• James Beauclerk (1671–81)

Louise de Kéroualle

• Charles, Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1672–1723)

Moll Davis

• Lady Mary Tudor (1673–1726)

Introduction

Charles II notoriously reigned from 1660 to 1685. Twenty-five years that no one could deny wasn’t a wild ride. The merry monarch is remembered mostly for his relaxed morals, hedonistic court, insatiable love of women and his many illegitimate children.

But Charles didn’t have an easy path to monarchy. His early adulthood was clouded by civil war culminating in the execution of his father, King Charles I. On 30 January 1649, a freezing cold winter’s morning, the king was led from St James’s Palace to the Banqueting House at Whitehall for his execution. It was so cold the Thames had iced over and Charles I wore two shirts to keep out the chill. At Whitehall the king prayed and composed himself, awaiting his fate.

As he gave a speech before his death, a soldier stumbled against the axe and Charles told him ‘Hurt not the axe that may hurt me’, fearing it may become blunt. When he was ready the king turned to the executioner and said, ‘I shall say but very short prayers, and when I thrust out my hands…’ it would be time. Taking off his cloak, he checked with the executioner that his hair was out of the way, tucked into a nightcap, and removed his doublet and waistcoat before replacing his cloak. He asked the executioner whether the block could be higher, but all was ready and he was no longer in a place to make demands. The king placed his head on the block and asked the executioner to wait for the sign. When he stretched forward his hands, the axe fell and Charles I lost his head in one stroke. It was held aloft with the words ‘behold the head of a traitor’.¹ He was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

He left behind his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, who had fled to France, and his six children. Elizabeth and Henry were under Parliamentary control in England, their youngest child, Henrietta Anne, had been smuggled to France to her mother and Charles, Prince of Wales, and James, Duke of York, were at The Hague with their sister Mary who had married Prince William of Orange in 1642.

But Charles II didn’t immediately ascend to the throne. He would be crowned King of Scotland at Scone Abbey on 1 January 1651, but his restoration to the throne in England was uncertain. The Scottish army invaded England in a bid to restore Charles I’s son, but were defeated at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 by Cromwell’s New Model Army. From then on Charles was on the run. As the story goes, he once evaded capture by hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel House with Major Carlis, and after six weeks of traipsing the country in disguise he managed to escape back to Holland in October. He would spend the next nine years impoverished, moving from country to country, waiting for the day he could return to England.

At the beginning of 1660, Charles’ fortunes were looking up. Cromwell’s son Richard had succeeded as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, but he had resigned from the position after only a short time. Now Parliament was formally inviting Charles to return as King of England and terms were being negotiated. For Charles’ part he signed the declaration of Breda, which included a general pardon for those who had committed crimes during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.

On 25 May 1660, he took a ship from Breda to Dover. When Charles arrived at Canterbury, he dashed off a quick letter to his younger sister, Henrietta Anne, in France telling her:

I arrived yesterday at Dover where I found Monk with a great number of the nobility who almost overwhelmed me with friendship and joy at my return. My head is so prodigiously dazed by the acclamation of the people and by quantities of business that I know not whether I am writing sense or no, therefore you will pardon me if I do not tell you any more, only that I am entirely yours²

On his thirtieth birthday, 29 May 1660, Charles rode into London on horseback, flanked by his two brothers, James and Henry, past General Monck and his 30,000 strong army gathered on Blackheath. At Deptford they were greeted by the Lord Mayor of London who offered Charles the sword of the capital and was immediately knighted. Charles continued towards Whitehall, a journey that took him seven hours:

surrounded by a crowd of the nobility, with great pomp and triumph and in the most stately manner ever seen, amid the acclamations and blessings of the people … The mayor and magistrates of the city met him and tendered the customary tributes, and he passed from one end to the other of this very long city, between the foot soldiers who kept the streets open, raising his eyes to the windows looking at all, raising his hat to all and consoling all who with loud shouts and a tremendous noise acclaimed the return of this great prince so abounding in virtues and distinguished qualities of every sort.³

London celebrated the return of the monarchy. The country had seen utter turmoil during the English Civil War (1642–1651) and the Interregnum (1649–1660) that followed and the people were enthusiastic for a new England, one that had a king at its head and a different form of government. They were eager for an end to the strict atmosphere of living in Puritan England where the theatre was closed, entertainments were frowned upon and some sports were banned. The Venetian ambassador reported:

For three days and three nights they have lighted bonfires and made merry, burning effigies of Cromwell and other rebels with much abuse. The foreign ministers have taken part in these rejoicings, and I also, in addition to the illuminations have kept before the door a fountain of wine and other liquors, according to the custom of the country, much to the delight of the people and amid acclamations.⁴

The people of England would not be disappointed as Charles immediately put an end to Puritan restrictions. The Restoration court would become what has been described as hedonistic, debauched, indulgent, excessive and promiscuous. If there was hope for a return to normalcy, the new king was going to disappoint. There was going to be a dramatic and explosive change, some would say too far in the opposite direction.

Charles II had spent nine long years waiting for his triumphant return and he was about to enjoy every minute of it. Samuel Pepys, the infamous seventeenth-century diarist, wrote seven years after the restoration: ‘the King and Court were never in the world so bad as they are now for gaming, swearing, whoring, and drinking, and the most abominable vices that ever were in the world; so that all must come to nought.’⁵

Whilst John Evelyn wrote much later in Charles’ reign:

I am never to forget the unexpressable luxury, and prophanesse, gaming, and all dissolution, and as it were total forgetfullnesse of God (it being Sunday Evening) which this day sennight, I was witnesse of; the King, sitting and toying with his Concubines Portsmouth, Cleaveland, and Mazarine: etc: A French boy singing love songs, in that glorious Gallery, whilst about 20 of the greate Courtiers and other dissolute persons were at Basset round a large table, a bank of at least 2000 in Gold before them … it being a sceane of uttmost vanity.⁶

Charles the son was a lot different from Charles the father. Charles I was a faithful husband, loyal to Queen Henrietta Maria. Some historians have claimed he might have had one or two mistresses, but if so, he kept his relationships under wraps. The queen, however, was no stranger to extramarital affairs as she was the daughter of Henry IV of France who had had at least eight illegitimate children.

Charles, on the other hand, was never faithful to his queen. The king had many mistresses throughout his life like Jane Roberts, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Mrs Knight, Winifred Wells, and Hortense Mancini. Some of them became closer to his heart, like Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland, who gave birth to most of his children, Nell Gwyn the actress who was the peoples’ favourite, and Louise, the French spy who told him stories of his sister’s life in France. Many others stayed for just one night, others stayed in his life for a while. Not all had his children and perhaps we don’t know for sure how many children he actually sired. In this book are the stories of his thirteen acknowledged children and a couple of questionable ones.

What the king never had was a legitimate heir. He married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, who came with a dowry of two million crowns and the cities of Bombay and Tangier. Their relationship started off rockily when the queen came to the realisation that Barbara Villiers was actually the king’s main squeeze, but eventually they found some harmony and balance. Despite her husband’s infidelities, Catherine wanted nothing more than to give the king children. When she was severely ill and close to death she talked as if they had a family. On one occasion she thought she had given birth to a son but that he was ugly and Charles had to reassure her that their imaginary child was pretty. Another time she thought she had three children and that her daughter looked just like her father. When her physician woke her to take a tonic one morning she asked how the children were. But there would never be a legitimate heir for this king and queen of England.

Charles surrounded himself with beautiful women and his Merry Gang of friends, notorious for their wild antics. There were lavish parties, nightly court entertainments, drunken evenings and late mornings usually accompanied by a member of the opposite sex. But the king was also a patron of the arts and theatre. He supported scientific investigation and commissioned the Royal Observatory. He granted a royal charter to The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge and he supported improvements in navigation and ship design. It wasn’t all pleasure and his reign was also hit by war, plague and fire as well as assassination attempts, plots and an ongoing succession crisis.

When the king died in 1685, he left the throne to his brother James, Duke of York – James II. Charles had no legitimate heir to carry on his bloodline but he did have numerous illegitimate children whose descendants live to this day.

This book contains the lives of those children. As with many histories, those of the men are far more documented than the women, but it is hoped that what evidence has been found is illuminating and sheds new light on the children of Charles II.

Starting with James de la Cloche, the mysterious son of a Jersey woman, we then move to James, Duke of Monmouth who was the king’s most loved son but died a traitor to Charlotte, Countess of Yarmouth, who married into the infamous Paston family but rarely saw her father.

We find out more about Charles, Earl of Plymouth, who died at the tender age of twenty-three in Tangier. Next we move to the Villiers boys – Charles, Henry and George – and follow the escapades of Henry, Duke of Grafton, a military commander known for his intellect and strategy who would lose his life in Ireland.

Then the Villiers daughters of whom Anne, Countess of Sussex, stands out as having the most unlucky love life, an unhappy marriage, and for having an affair with one of her father’s mistresses and one of her mother’s lovers.

Charles, Duke of St Albans, the son of Nell Gwyn, married the celebrated beauty Lady Diana de Vere, was friend to William of Orange, and an active freemason and member of the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. She is followed by the son of his mother’s rival, Charles, Duke of Richmond, an English and French citizen who eventually settled in England at his Goodwood estate and was an early patron of cricket.

And finally we end with Lady Mary Tudor, who married three times and whose sons would fight and die for the Jacobite cause.

These are their stories.

Chapter One

James de la Cloche

James de la Cloche is something of a mystery and may or may not have been Charles II’s first son. He is mainly known through the work of British historian Lord Acton who received some tantalising copies of letters in 1862 from Father Giuseppe Boero of the Jesuit archives in Rome. Lord Acton later wrote an article ‘The Secret History of Charles II’ in The Home and Foreign Review, outlining his findings and thoughts on the letters. Acton claimed they proved that Charles II had an illegitimate son born in Jersey.

Charles, then Prince of Wales, arrived on the island on 17 April 1646 to take up residence at Elizabeth Castle, a sixteenth-century stronghold built on a tidal island, and was there until June when he travelled to France to join his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria. It is believed that while there he had an affair with Lady Margaret de Carteret. Margaret’s father has been posited as Amice or George de Carteret. George was governor of Jersey at the time and was a staunch Royalist, welcoming the young prince to sanctuary on the island. He had five daughters as well as three sons, but none of them were named Margaret.

If a birth date for her of 1626 is correct (and she was believed to have been around four years older than Charles) then she was the daughter of Joshua de Carteret, lieutenant-bailiff, and his wife, Jeanne Herault. Lord Acton did not name the mother of Charles II’s illegitimate son in his article, stating only that she was ‘a young lady of high rank’,¹ but he also said that the child was named James Stuart.

Edith Carey, a nineteenth-century Channel Islands historian, suggested that the child’s mother was Margaret de Carteret who became Charles’ lover when he was visiting the island for the first time. Consequently, their son, James, was born in 1647 and Carey delved deep, examining Trinity parish records to uncover possible evidence that the baptism records had been tampered with. She believed that the cover-up was made by Charles on his return to Jersey in September 1649 to keep their son’s existence a secret. Margaret later married Jean de la Cloche, the son of the rector of Saint Ouen, on 23 April 1656 in Trinity church, and supposedly her son took his stepfather’s surname.

What Lord Acton believed to be proof of James de la Cloche’s existence was found in the Jesuit archives: included in the Register of Admissions to the Jesuits’ Novice House on the Quirinal in Rome was the arrival, on 11 April 1668, of ‘Jacobus de La Cloche of the island of Jersey, aged 24’.²