19 Portraits of Barbara Villiers; Duchess of Cleveland and mistress to Charles II

Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine, also known as Lady Castlemaine (27 November 1640–9 October 1709) was an English courtesan from the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of whom were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled. Her influence was so great that she has been referred to as “The Uncrowned Queen.”…

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