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Frances Stewart | ||||||||||
Among all of King Charles II of England's loves, she is the only one believed to have consistently refused his advances. Like Hortense Mancini who would capture the king's interest nearly ten years later, Frances Stuart indulged in the Restoration's fashion of dressing in men's clothing. At the time of Charles's infatuation with her, Barbara Villiers, who was pregnant with the king's child, made a great effort to befriend her potential rival. They even went through a mock marriage ceremony with Frances as bride, Barbara as groom, and the two of them bedded in the traditional post-wedding ceremony. Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of this odd lovers' triangle was that Barbara would offer to share her bed with Frances, then invite the king into the room to watch the other woman sleeping. Frances eloped with the Duke of Richmond in April 1667. The king was furious, but eventually forgave her and made her husband ambassador to Denmark. The Duke died young, but Frances never remarried. She devoted her later years to cats and cards; at her death her cats were bequeathed to various female friends, with money for their upkeep. | ||||||||||
Source: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~mamaes/17r.html |
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Frances Stewart by Peter Lely, 1660s | ||||||||||
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