So the bad(ish) news is that I lied to all of you last week. Though I sent in my work on Queen Catherine's house, I unfortunately do not yet have the new list of people under a different royal house. So it looks like I am not destined to end Catherine's royal house with Richard Lumley. Sorry Rich, I hope you can forgive me. Anyway, though I can't make any promises, I think this next person will definitely be the last biography I do from the royal house of Queen Catherine of Braganza. So everyone get ready, cause you're all about to learn about one Mary Villiers, Duchess of Lennox and Richmond.
Mary Villiers was born at Wallingford House, London in March of 1622. She was the eldest and only daughter of her parents, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and Lady Katherine. She was definitely more popular than I was as a child, already being favored in court circles at a young age. It probably helped that she was the goddaughter of James I, who allowed her free access to the privy quarters and frequently cuddled her, calling her his little grandchild. Due to her father's status, her marriage was arranged early on. As a part of her father's attempt at reconciliation with the heir of the elector palatine, she became betrothed to Charles Herbert, Lord Herbert of Shurland. Mary's father was murdered in 1628, entrusting her guardianship to the Herbert family.
Mary still frequently spent time at court and would participate in masques. On one occasion she was carried to Charles I in a hamper, gaining the name Butterfly or Papillon as a consequence of this. I know that sounds kind of weird, but I think it's an interesting tidbit! Anyway, she married Lord Herbert on January 8, 1635 in the royal closet at Whitehall and before you ask, I'm pretty sure it wasn't an actual closet. The event was celebrated in verse by William Davenant and marked by a drama from Henry Killigrew, published in 1638 as The Conspiracy. I don't know about you, but I would love for my wedding to end up being a drama.
Herbert soon left with his younger brother Philip to travel abroad, as one does not even a year after marriage, and died of smallpox in January 1636 while in Florence. Not one to wait too long, Lady Mary married the king's cousin James Stuart, fourth duke of Lennox and first duke of Richmond on August 3rd, 1637. Though the couple had a house at Cobham Hall in Kent, they remained prominent at court where, apparently, the Duchess's beauty was celebrated in verse and prose. She also had numerous portraits done, including some by Anthony Van Dyck. No wonder she didn't want to leave court, since everyone was apparently swooning over her looks there.
After the outbreak of the civil war, Mary joined the queen in Holland, returning early in 1643. There was some gossip surrounding her that she "had used beating up of quarters ... too frequently with Prince Rupert". Sounds scandalous, right? For those of you who may be confused, and rightly so, this gossip pointed to a romance between the two. In July of 1648, her brother, Lord Francis Villiers, was unfortunately killed in a skirmish. The next year, on the morning of Charles I's execution, the king found his father's watch which Mary had played with as an infant and had it sent to her as his last bequest. Can we just take a moment to recognize how special this woman had to be for the king's last bequest to be to send her his father's watch? My heart can't take it!
Mary eventually had two children, a son, Esme, born in November 1649, and a daughter Mary, born in July 1651. On March 30, 1655 her second husband died as well, leaving Mary in debt. So she set out for France, where she became involved in royalist affairs. Her son died in Paris in August 1660, and it was probably around this time that Mary decided to return to England. In December of that year, a French agent in England wrote to Cardinal Mazarin, after visiting Mary's house, that she was the most amusing woman in the world. So not only was Mary a looker, but had a great personality as well. Luckily for her, this winning personality convinced the French agent to request Charles II that she be repaid 40,000 pounds owed her by the crown and proposed the three of them meet in private to discuss potential royal brides.
In March 1662 she was appointed a lady of the bedchamber to the queen dowager, Henrietta Maria, effectively putting her under the royal house of Catherine of Braganza as well. Though a privy seal was issued for 20,000 pounds to her so she could repay her debts, she still found herself in financial difficulties. Before November 1664 she married Colonel Thomas Howard who was known as Northern Tom Howard. He was lieutenant of the yeoman of the guard and younger brother of Charles Howard, first earl of Carlisle. Though she remained in England when Henrietta Maria returned to France in 1665, she eventually departed for France a few years later. Once there, she played a part in the negotiations between Charles II and his sister, Henriette Anne, Duchess of Orleans. According to French diplomatic correspondence reported in March 1669, Mary told her other brother of Henrietta Anne's distrust of him in a letter.
By 1674 Mary was granted a pension of 1000 pounds a year for the rest of her life. Her daughter, who married Lord Richard Butler, had died in 1668. Her husband died 10 years later in the summer of 1678. So now this poor woman had outlived three husbands, one brother, and both of her children. Unfortunately, not much is known about her last years. Still known as the Duchess of Richmond, she died in 1685 and was buried in the Richmond tomb in Westminster Abbey with her second and third husbands and her son.
Mary Villiers (Stuart), Duchess of Richmond is a good example of why I tend to find history so intriguing. I can tell you guys a million dates: the year she was born, married, had kids, and died. I can tell you about her role in different events in history and what her reputation was. However, what I love to learn and to tell others about are the almost insignificant events that she was a part of. Learning that Charles I thought highly enough of her to send her his father's watch as his final request because he knew it might mean something to her feels more real than any other information I know about her. That is a very human moment and it is moments like that which make these people real.
In history, it can be difficult to imagine historical figures as real people who had real emotions and connections. The farther back in time they lived, the harder it can be to feel any sort of connection. However, when I learn that Mary was considered "amusing" by a French agent or that James I called her his "little grandchild", I see these people as real human beings. They felt sorrow when losing a loved one and happiness when doing something they loved. Although I've written longer biographies about far more prominent people, in a way I feel that I connected more with Mary than with most other members of the royal court. This is why I love history, and this is why it is so important in today's time. It can be hard to learn from characters or stories which seem fictional because they happened so long ago, but if we can see these people as real, we might just be able to use what we know about them to shape our own lives today.
Freda Hast, ‘Villiers , Mary, duchess of Lennox and Richmond (1622–1685)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/56054, accessed 16 Oct 2016]
No comments:
Post a Comment