Mistresses by Linda Porter

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Mistresses by Linda Porter: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Mistresses by Linda Porter, Episode 1

Sex and scandal at the court of Charles II by Linda Porter.

When King Charles II returns to the throne in 1660 he installs his beautiful mistress Barbara Villiers at the centre of his court.

Charles II was addicted to women and, after his restoration to the throne in 1660, despite being married to Catherine of Braganza, he kept  a series of mistresses - many of them at the same time. 

The most famous of them all was Nell Gwyn. She was loved by the British public who sympathised with her working class vulgarity and sense of humour.  They didn’t take too kindly to the King’s French mistress Louise de Kéroualle, a powerful networker at the court with more influence than the Queen. 

At a time when religious and political tensions ran high, with Catholics and Protestants fighting over the succession to the throne, these women exerted profound influences on him. For all of these women, the rewards were grand houses, titles with land and increasingly lavish pensions.  Between them, Charles II fathered 13  illegitimate children while his neglected and unloved wife remained childless.

Reader:  Rachael Stirling  
Abridger:  Libby Spurrier
Producer:  Marina Caldarone
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Book of the Week. Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II.

Book of the Week. Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II. The story of the women who shared the king's bed and their influence on the politics and cultural life of the country.

The story of the women who shared the king's bed and their influence on both the politics and cultural life of the country.

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