Barbara Villiers: The King's Mistress Who Became a Political Power

In 1659 Barbara Villiers married at 18 with a famous name and no fortune. Within a year she was the mistress of Charles II, and by 1670 she was Duchess of Cleveland in her own right, owner of Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace and mother of 5 children the King called his. Samuel Pepys was told she won £15,000 at cards in one night and lost £25,000 in another. In 1667 she stood in her smock at a Whitehall window to watch the Lord Chancellor fall. In 1682 she had Nonsuch pulled down to pay her gambling debts, and by the end almost nothing the King gave her was still standing. Subscribe to the channel: @lostgrandeuruk In this video, we talk about how Barbara Villiers rose and fell, including her Royalist father's death after the storming of Bristol, her marriage to Roger Palmer, the earldom tied to her children, the bedchamber battle with Catherine of Braganza, her feud with Clarendon, the Poor-Whores Petition, the dukedom of 1670, John Churchill and the Test Act, the demolition of Nonsuch Palace, and her last marriage to a bigamist at Chiswick. 🔔 Subscribe for more of Britain's great houses and the people who won and lost them. 💬 Comment where you're watching from and tell me what you make of Barbara Villiers, schemer, survivor or both. 📢 Share this with a history lover on Facebook, Reddit or in your group chat. You're the reason this channel keeps going. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 01:09 The Cavalier's Daughter Had Nothing but a Name 08:21 A Crown Came Home, and a Husband Was Made 15:41 The Queen Arrived to Find Her Waiting 23:48 Five Children, a Pension and a Painted Madonna 32:16 The Minister Who Would Not Bow to Her 40:11 The Whores' Petition and the Duchess's Coronet 48:20 A Young Lover, a New Law and a French Rival 56:15 She Pulled Down a Palace to Pay the Bank 1:04:15 The Bigamist Who Married a Duchess at Sixty Four 1:13:11 What the King's Favor Left Standing Sources: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 27 August 1667 https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1667/08/27/ The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 21 May 1662 https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1662/05/21/ Survey of London: Cleveland Row (British History Online) https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/node/33718 London Museum, Nonsuch Palace: Henry VIII's lost pearl https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/nonsuch-palace-henry-viiis-lost-pearl/ National Portrait Gallery, Barbara Palmer with her son as the Virgin and Child https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw01336 Friends of Lydiard Park, Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine https://www.friendsoflydiardpark.org.uk/?p=2573 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Villiers-Duchess-of-Cleveland DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from the sources listed above alongside primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. #LostGrandeur #BarbaraVilliers #CharlesII #DuchessOfCleveland #LadyCastlemaine #RoyalMistress #RestorationEngland #StuartHistory #NonsuchPalace #Whitehall #SamuelPepys #CatherineOfBraganza #Clarendon #Chiswick #BritishHistory #EnglishHistory #RoyalHistory #LostHouses #History #Documentary