Description
Barbara Villiers (1641-1709) was a great beauty of Charles II’s court and one of Peter Lely’s most frequently painted subjects.
From her arrival at Charles’s court as a young woman, her intention was to become a Royal mistress which she achieved in 1660, the year of Charles IIs coronation. She went on to have 5 children by the King, all acknowledged by him, and the title of Duchess of Cleveland was bestowed on her in 1670. Her position at court during this period was seen to be more powerful than that of the Queen, Catherine of Braganza, and she was given prodigious allowances through the court.
She is known as a creditor with Gerrit Jensen, certainly during the 1670s for cabinet work at her Hampton Court apartments, though invoices are not sufficiently detailed to identify smaller items.
