Frances Stewart
The Face of Britannia
Frances Teresa Stewart the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox was a famous member of the Court of Restoration and lived from 1648 to 1702. A mistress of King Charles II of England, Frances Stewart was known for her exceptional beauty, which gave her the name La Belle Stuart among the French. In fact, her physical attributes were so striking that many people considered her an idealized version for female Britannia. The great diarist Samuel Pepys even gushingly referred to her as the "greatest beauty I ever saw".
Frances Stewart was born to Walter Stewart who was a highly respected physician in the court of Queen Henrietta Maria. She was actually, by birth, a distant relative of the ruling class in England at that time.
Although originally born in exile in Paris, France, Frances Stewart later moved back to England after the restoration in 1663. Queen Henrietta Maria, who was the widow of Charles I actually had a large role in Frances Stewart's relocation to England as the queen was the one who requested Stewart serve as maid of honour at the wedding of Charles II in 1663. After the highly celebrated wedding, Frances Stewart stayed on in England to serve as lady-in-waiting to the new bride of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza.
As expected for a woman of such great beauty, Frances Stewart had a host of suitors among them, the Duke of Buckingham and Francis Digby who was the son of the Earl of Bristol. Unfortunately for Francis Digby, his affections for Stewart were largely unrequited and this one sided love was thoroughly documented by the influential English poet, writer, literary critic and playwright John Dryden.
Aside from her considerable beauty Frances Stewart was equally known for her childishness and playful nature, although several letters to her husband (many of which are currently preserved in the British Museum) hinted at her good sense and compassionate feelings.
Charles II was particularly infatuated with the young beauty and his attraction was so profound that when his wife was close to her death in 1663, Charles reportedly intended to take Stewart as his new bride according to several reports. The queen subsequently pulled through this health crisis and four years later was still alive. At this point, Charles then entertained the possibility of obtaining a divorce in order to wed the young Stewart. Frances Stewart at this time was being avidly courted by the Duke of Lennox Charles Stewart and Charles fearing that she may be forever slipping out of grasp, frantically explored all means at his disposal to make her his mistress. In fact so great was Charles' obsession with Frances Stewart that at many times during his reign, he came close to taking extreme measures in order to wed her.
In spite of all these attentions from the king, Frances Stewart eventually ended up marrying Charles Stewart in March 1667. According to many accounts, Frances Stewart had to elope in order to proceed with the wedding as Lady Castlemaine (who herself hoped to be betrothed to the king) discovered the couple together.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 25/07/2008
