Tall, voluptuous, with masses of brunette hair, slanting, heavy-lidded violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth, Barbara Villiers was considered to be one of the most beautiful of the Royalist women, but her lack of fortune left her with reduced marriage prospects.
Her first serious romance was with Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, but he was searching for a rich wife; he wed Elizabeth Butler in 1660.
On 14 April 1659 she married Roger Palmer (later 1st Earl of Castlemaine), a Roman Catholic, against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world.
The Palmers had joined the ambitious group of supplicants who sailed for Brussels at the end of 1659.
In 1660, Barbara became the king's mistress, and on 20 August 1660 was awarded two pennies seigniorage on every Troy pound of silver minted into coins.
As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and Earl of Castlemaine in 1661.
These titles were given with the stipulation that they would only be passed down through Roger's heirs by Barbara, and thus served as a way for the king to indirectly secure an inheritance for his illegitimate children.
The two officially separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son.
It has been claimed that Roger Palmer did not father any of his wife's children.
Tall, voluptuous, with masses of brunette hair, slanting, heavy-lidded violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth, Barbara Villiers was considered to be one of the most beautiful of the Royalist women, but her lack of fortune left her with reduced marriage prospects. Her first serious romance was with Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, but he was searching for a rich wife; he wed Elizabeth Butler in 1660. On 14 April 1659 she married Roger Palmer (later 1st Earl of Castlemaine), a Roman Catholic, against his family's wishes; his father predicted that she would make him one of the most miserable men in the world. The Palmers had joined the ambitious group of supplicants who sailed for Brussels at the end of 1659. In 1660, Barbara became the king's mistress, and on 20 August 1660 was awarded two pennies seigniorage on every Troy pound of silver minted into coins. As a reward for her services, the King created her husband Baron Limerick and Earl of Castlemaine in 1661. These titles were given with the stipulation that they would only be passed down through Roger's heirs by Barbara, and thus served as a way for the king to indirectly secure an inheritance for his illegitimate children. The two officially separated in 1662, following the birth of her first son. It has been claimed that Roger Palmer did not father any of his wife's children.
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland