Charles II’s reign (1660-85) is the only occasion in English history when a monarch has explicitly flouted convention and paraded his mistresses in public. A royal mistress was a Court celebrity, eulogised for her beauty. You could attend the best parties, but you held no official position, and you were utterly dependent on the King.

Charles himself was charismatic, charming and swarthily attractive. He was surrounded by temptation and took no great effort to resist it. His brother James was similarly voracious, and the royal brothers were the biggest catch of all for ambitious courtesans. Both married, their extra-marital libido and generosity were highly prized. James’s wife, Anne, had begun her own career as a Maid of Honour before catching the royal eye and climbing into the royal bed.

 Estates, riches and influence

Barbara Villiers (c.1640-1709) was part of a fast-living set of ambitious aristocrats. Her proximity to the King meant she was a useful ally for courtiers keen on acquiring a Court position. Louise de Kéroualle (1649-1734) was a French import, a gift from King Louis XIV. She was promoted by her friends, and portrayed by her enemies, as a ‘creature of France’, a tool with which to influence English foreign policy.

Both transformed their fortunes by their relationships with the King. They amassed great wealth and all the fashionable accessories of pampered courtesans in their opulently furnished royal apartments. Both were also made duchesses, and their illegitimate children by the King were all given titles of their own, with all of the estates, riches and influence that went with them.