She died eight months later and was buried in the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. She retained Charles' II affection as much by her wit as her looks and their relationship was to last for sixteen years. Mine didnt leave enough information about themselves for my liking! Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? They certainly enjoyed secret nights playing cards together away from prying eyes. She had none of the political aspirations of his other mistresses. Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitters life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 14 November 1687; also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne) was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. In May, a second stroke left her confined to the bed in her Pall Mall house; she made out her will on 9 July and a codicil on 18 October with her executors, Laurence Hyde (the Earl of Rochester), Thomas Earl of Pembroke, Sir Robert Sawyer the Attorney General, and Henry Sidney each receiving 100. Gwyn was attending a performance of George Etherege's She Wou'd if She Cou'd at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to get the full Trove experience. She continued to act at the King's House, her new notoriety drawing larger crowds and encouraging the playwrights to craft more roles specifically for her. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage, she became best known for being a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Charles had secret passages built so that he could visit her without others knowing. Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, KG (8 May 1670 10 May 1726) was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by his mistress Nell Gwyn. [citation needed] He became colonel in the 8th regiment of horse in 1687, and served with the emperor Leopold I, being present at the siege of Belgrade in 1688.[1]. As she was working class, no-one recorded the specifics of her life, her date of birth, for example, until she became famous. 'Tis our joint cause; I know you in your hearts The spelling of 'Gwin' does not refer to Nell Gwyn, but to Mrs. Anne Quin. and subsequently created that peerage. The King cried out "God save the Earl of Burford!" Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. King Charles II had a considerable number of mistresses through his life, both short affairs and committed arrangements. The information we have about Gwyn is collected from various sources, including the plays she starred in, satirical poetry and pictures, diaries, and letters. nell gwynn. Nell Gwyn, original name Eleanor Gwyn, (born Feb. 2, 1650, London, Eng.died Nov. 14, 1687, London), English actress and mistress of Charles II, whose frank recklessness, generosity, invariable good temper, ready wit, infectious high spirits, and amazing indiscretions appealed irresistibly to a generation that welcomed in her the living antithesis of Puritanism. Though Gwyn was often caricatured as an empty-headed woman, John Dryden said that her greatest attribute was her native wit, and she certainly became a hostess who was able to keep the friendship of Dryden, the playwright Aphra Behn, William Ley, 4th Earl of Marlborough (a lover of hers), John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, and the King's other mistresses. Gwyn herself seems to agree that drama did not suit her, to judge from the lines she was later made to say in the epilogue to a Robert Howard drama: We have been all ill-us'd, by this day's poet. There are occasions when we are unsure of the identity of a sitter or artist, their life dates, occupation or have not recorded their family relationships. to which Gwyn responded, "Oh, exactly the same relation that the French Prince was to Mademoiselle de Krouaille. St Martin's Place [13] Tradition has her growing up in Coal Yard Alley, a poor slum off Drury Lane. Search here. Beauclerk died at Bath two days after his 56th birthday and is buried in Westminster Abbey. [38], Late in 1667, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham took on the role of unofficial manager for Gwyn's love affairs. went to South .Africa with the 17th Lancers. [2] The eight-year difference between these two possible birth years can offer different readings of what Gwyn achieved during her lifetime. When the king rebuked her for calling him that, she replied, "Your Majesty has given me no other name to call him by." "[59], She is noted for another remark made to her coachman, who was fighting with another man who had called her a whore. And, through her drawers the powerful charm descry'd. Gwyn seemed unsatisfied with being a lessee onlyin 1673, a letter written by that of Joseph Williamson stated that "Madam Gwinn complains she has no house yet." Her balance at Child's Bank was reported to be well over four figures, and she possessed almost 15,000 ounces of plate. The author of her 1752 biography relates a conversation (more than likely fabricated) between Gwyn and Charles II in which he, feeling at a loss, said, "O, Nell! and subsequently officially created the peerage, saving his son's life. Ch. She was 37 years old (if she was born in 1650). On 21 December 1676, a warrant was passed for "a grant to Charles Beauclerc, the King's natural son, and to the heirs male of his body, of the dignities of Baron of Heddington, co. Oxford, and Earl of Burford in the same county, with remainder to his brother, James Beauclerc, and the heirs male of his body." Nell Gwyn remains one of England's great folk-heroines. Her return was in Dryden's The Conquest of Granada, a two-part epic produced in December 1670 and January 1671. This was the King's seventh sonby five separate mistresses. During Gwyn's first years with Charles, there was little competition in the way of other mistresses: Barbara Palmer was on her way out, while others, such as Moll Davis, kept quietly away from the spotlight of public appearances or Whitehall. "[31] Killigrew must have agreed with Pepys's opinion. The playwright Dryden supplied her with a series of saucy, bustling parts, ideally suited to her talents. On 26 August, Pepys learns from Moll Davis that, 'Nell is already left by my Lord Buckhurst, and that he makes sport of her, and swears she hath had all she could get of him; and Hart, her great admirer, now hates her; and that she is very poor, and hath lost my Lady Castlemayne, who was her great friend also but she is come to the House, but is neglected by them all'. Putting her head out of the coach window, "Good people", she said, smiling, "you are mistaken; I am the Protestant whore."[58]. Nell answered then, "I was but one man's whore, though I was brought up in a bawdy-house to fill strong waters to the guests; and you are a whore to three or four, though a Presbyter's praying daughter!"[12]. JS: Yes. Its always intrigued me too, how some descendants end up peers of the realm and others end up "dustbinmen". Take a closer look with the unique Van de Velde drawings collection, What's out there in space lurking close to the Earth and is it going to hit us? [11] She experimented with cross-dressing between 1663 and 1667 going under the name "William Nell" and adopting a false beard; her observations informed a most successful and hilarious character interpretation acting as a man on the stage in March 1667. Shortly afterwards, the King granted Gwyn and their son a house, which was renamed Burford House, on the edge of the Home Park in Windsor. JThe, .dukedom has passed in a most curious .\ray, down to the present holder, who Is an extra, 'A.D.O. The new theatres were the first in England to feature actresses; earlier, women's parts had been played by boys or men. Gwyn returned to the stage again in late 1670, something Beauclerk calls an "extraordinary thing to do" for a mistress with a royal child. If you have information to share please complete the form below. Nell became a mistress of Charles II in 1669. Theatre historian Elizabeth Howe goes so far as to credit the enduring success of the gay couple on the Restoration stage entirely to "the talent and popularity of a single actress, Nell Gwyn". she exclaimed, in an imitation of the King's manner of speaking, "but this is the poorest company I ever was in! In the 1840s, there was a house on the site of Nell Gwynn House in which the member of parliament George Thompson lived. Among the, descendants of Nell Gwynn are his sisters. [S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. (1651?-1687), Actress; mistress of Charles II, Paul McCartney Photographs 196364: Eyes of the Storm, Pepys and his Contemporaries book in our Shops, Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Painted Ladies: Women at the Court of Charles II, The Diary Room: Characters of the 17th Century, The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. The diarist, Samuel Pepys, reported himself delighted by the performance of "pretty, witty Nell", watching her as Florimel in Dryden's Secret Love, or the Maiden Queen he wrote- "so great a performance of a comical part was never, I believe, in the world before..so done by Nell her merry part as cannot be better done in nature". In response, Charles created him Earl of Burford. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nell-Gwyn-English-actress, BFI Screenonline - Biography of Nell Gwyn, Royal County of Berkshire History - Biography of Nell Gwynne, Nell Gwyn - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Charles Beauclerk, 1st duke of Saint Albans. found in England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. From across the sea, an art revolution is coming. Nell was buried with her mother in the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, in London. WebNell gave birth to her first son, Charles Beauclerk, on 8 May 1670. to Lord Curzon in India. After supper, the king discovered that he had no money on him to pay, nor it seemed did his brother and Nell had to pay the bill. Pepys reports the news on 13 July: "[Mr. Pierce tells us] Lord Buckhurst hath got Nell away from the King's house, lies with her, and gives her 100 a year, so she hath sent her parts to the house, and will act no more. Gwyn nicknamed Louise "Squintabella" for her looks and the "Weeping Willow" for her tendencies to sob. A letter from Wigmore to Etherege, the day after Gwyn's burial, reports that Gwyn left 'about 1,000,000 l. stirling, a great many say more, few less'. In one instance, recorded in a letter from George Legge to Lord Preston, Gwyn characteristically jabbed at the Duchess's "great lineage," dressing in black at Court, the same mourning attire as Louise when a prince of France died. Nell was was the daughter of Thomas and Ellen Gwynn, her place of birth is disputed, with some sources stating Pipe Well Lane in Hereford, which was renamed Gwynne Street in the nineteenth century, while others state she was born in London. Gwyn is said to have complained that "she had always conveyed free under the Crown, and always would; and would not accept [the house] till it was conveyed free to her by an Act of Parliament." +44(0)20 7306 0055, Admission free. Partner of Charles II of England WebNell Gwynn (c. 16501687) The descendants of Holy Roman Empire monarchies became feeble-minded in the twentieth century, and after World War I had been done in They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Gugu Mbatha-Raw played the title role in the production debut. We speak to playwright Jessica Swale about the actress Nell Gwynn, who is the subject of her Olivier nominated play. The remarkable life of Nell Gwynne, most famous of the many mistresses of 'the Merry Monarch', Charles II, a classic rags to riches story, began on 2 February 1650. She had a magnificent silver bed in the house, adorned with the king's head and figures of cupids and slaves, as well as crowns and an eagle. WebShe had two sons by the King, and the elder, Charles Beauclerk, was created Duke of St Albans. Gwyn joined the rank of actresses at Bridges Street when she was fourteen (if we take her birth year to be 1650), less than a year after becoming an orange-girl. James II, following his brother's deathbed wish, "Let not poor Nelly starve," paid most of her debts and gave her a pension. In response, Charles created him Earl of Burford. A few months later, the Frenchwoman Louise de Krouaille came to England, ostensibly to serve as a maid of honour to Charles' wife, Catherine of Branganza, but in reality as Charles' mistress. The Maiden Queen featured breeches roles, where the actress appeared in men's clothes under one pretence or another, and as Bax supposes "was one of the first occasions upon which a woman appeared in the disguise of a man";[33] if nothing else this could draw an audience eager to see the women show off their figures in the more form-fitting male attire. One way or another, Gwyn's father seems to have been out of the picture by the time of her childhood in Covent Garden, and her "dipsomaniac mother, [and] notorious sister", Rose, were left in a low situation. The orange-girls would also serve as messengers between men in the audience and actresses backstage; they received monetary tips for this role and some of these messages would end in sexual assignations. Once Gwyn left the acting profession, it would be at least ten years before his company revived The Maiden Queen and even the less favoured The Indian Emperour because "the management evidently felt that it would be useless to present these plays without her."[32]. An excellent singer and dancer and much in demand as a speaker of impudent prologues and epilogues, pretty, witty Nell was ill-suited to serious parts, yet she was often cast for roles in romantic dramas. [14] Duncan provided Gwyn with rooms at a tavern in Maypole Alley,[15] and the satires also say he was involved in securing Nell a job at the theatre being built nearby. [47] Their relationship was not strictly adversarial; they were known to get together for tea and cards, for example. Several months later, Louise de Krouaille came to England from France, ostensibly to serve as a maid of honour to Queen Catherine, but also to become another mistress to King Charles, probably by design on both the French and English sides. WebNell Gwynn, the mistress of Charles II, was a famous denizen of London. She didn't want to become an aristocrat, she never wanted a title, so I imagine that it was the man himself that she was attracted to, rather than their relationship being political opportunism on her part. The King and the Duke of York were at the play. [1] On the other hand, an account published in The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist in 1838 states that she was born about 1642. She was said to have been remembered by Charles on his deathbed with the words Dryden later wrote plays specifically to exploit her talents as a comic actress. Hate serious plays, as I do serious parts. Additionally, 'Nelle' was intended to play the small role of Paulina, a courtesan, in Killigrew's Thomaso, or The Wanderer in November 1664, but the play seems to have been cancelled. 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