Fabulous women of the Restoration era
Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1647-1702)
Frances, being a distant relative of the royal family, came from a staunchly Royalist/Cavalier family and was thus born in Paris, in exile from Republican England, in 1647. She grew up alongside many other girls from Royalist families, specifically in the care of the exiled Queen Henrietta Maria of England (Frances’ father was Henrietta’s personal physician). She even grew extremely close to Princess Henriette-Anne of England, the youngest daughter of Queen Henrietta Maria and King Charles I, who considered Frances to be her cousin and treated her accordingly. Henriette and Frances were almost identical in age and both knew very little of their parents’ homeland. Change came for Frances when, in 1660, the English monarchy was restored and Henriette-Anne’s older brother, Prince Charles, was proclaimed King Charles II of England. Frances was 17, stunningly beautiful and already the talk of England before she even arrived at court. King Charles II had probably met Frances before when he had visited his exiled family in their French residence but this time, he really sat up and took notice of this golden haired beauty. Her beauty was so shining and legendary that she is often remembered as the most beautiful woman in English history.
Many men sought Frances’ sexual and romantic attention but all of them concluded that she wasn’t very clever. In fact, the Count of Gramont said that it was hard to imagine less brain combined with more beauty. Her childish silliness usually had men believe she could be conquered easily but there are several immortalised accounts (mostly notably by the playwright, John Dryden) of the broken hearts she left in her wake as she doesn’t seem to have requited any man’s attachment. Moreover, it’s plausible that she wasn’t as unintelligent as she seemed: her personal letters show a lady of good humour and deep emotion. The King set his cap at Frances almost immediately, frustrated by her constant refusal but ultimately always respectful of her wishes. He was persistent, however, even writing her desperate and passionate poetry (one particular poem states “there is no Hell like loving too well”). Lesser men than Charles plotted to get the King intoxicated and have him rape Frances but none of these plots came to fruition, either because Charles caught on quick to what was happening or from the direction intervention of Charles’ own wife and queen, Catherine of Braganza. The Duke of Buckingham also headed a committee named “The Committee for Getting Mistress Stewart for the King” and planned to dissolve the marriage between King Charles and the barren, often sickly and staunchly Catholic, Queen Catherine. Charles briefly considered, possibly out of frustration and fear for the smooth continuation of the Stuart line, but after 1663, he ultimately stuck fast by his queen, despite his love for Frances, and declared he would never divorce.
Charles did continue to dote on Frances, who in turn, held firm in her refusal. Charles’ official mistress, Barbara Villiers, was convinced that Frances was stringing Charles along on purpose and in order to oust any other competition from the game. So, when Barbara discovered the virginal and innocent Frances in a compromising situation with the Duke of Richmond (also called Charles Stuart, and also a distant relative of Frances) in 1667, she was overjoyed. Frances subsequently had to elope with the Duke, something that incurred Charles’ wrath at first but eventually, he forgave her (probably realising the part that scheming Barbara had to play in it all) and they remained close friends. Frances became disfigured by smallpox in 1669 and many decided to decry her as having nothing to offer now that her beauty was gone, but Charles still sought her company. This is both testament to Charles’ kind character and Frances’ hidden wit and personality.
Nowadays, Frances has been immortalised as both the woman who refused King Charles II and in the 17th century artist, Peter Lely’s, collection of court beauties (known as “the Windsor Beauties,” now kept at Hampton Court). Not many people know, however, that she was also the model for Britannia, the female personification of Great Britain. Charles II had her cast as Britannia on celebratory medals created after the Anglo-Dutch Wars and subsequently she continued to appear on copper coinage until recently.
Click on the links to see portraits of and information on the included persons in Frances’ story!
