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managed to leave a bequest to the inmates of Newgate Prison to help ease their lives there.
Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
    Louise de Kérouaille (1649–1734) was born to an aristocratic couple from Brittany. It is said that the family name, Kérouaille, was taken from a female ancestor who had married François de Penhoët in 1330.
    As a girl Louise was sent to live with the family of Charles II’s youngest sister, Henrietta Anne Stuart, the Duchess d’Orléans, married to the brother of Louis XIV. Louise accompanied Henrietta Anne on her trip back to England to visit Charles in 1670. Apparently Charles asked his sister if he could keep Louise for himself, but she told him the girl had been entrusted to her care and that the family would be expecting her to be looked after. There are rumours that Louise’s family in fact sent her into the duchess’s household in order that she be thrown in the way of a king, French or English, with a view to becoming the mistress of one of them.
    The Duchess d’Orléans died of a sudden and violent illness a few days after her return to France. It was thought at first to have been caused by poison but has since been determined that a duodenal ulcer resulted in acute peritonitis and it was this that caused the intense pain that accompanied her death. Louise was in need of a home and employment and it was thought an excellent idea that she be offered to Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza, as a lady-in-waiting. Everyone knew what this really meant; a delicate morsel for the king himself. If there was any hint of Louise being a sacrificial lamb sent to the King of England as a means of keeping track of events, then she went with a willing spirit.
    It did not take long for Louise to become a great favourite of Charles II both in and out of bed. Nell Gwyn did not like her and nor did the English people. It was not just that Louise was so obviously French, but that she was greedy for money and made sure she was kept well supplied with it. Louise’s son with the king, another Charles, was made Duke of Richmond when he was 3 years old.

    Louise de Kérouaille
    Louise was given various titles: Baroness Petersfield, Countess of Fareham and Duchess of Portsmouth. She also received the whacking great sum of £27,300. No wonder poor Nell was not pleased (though to be fair Charles did spend close to £60,000 on her over a three-year period).
    Although Louise was Catholic she did not suffer the same fate as befell Barbara Palmer when the 1676 act was brought in preventing Catholics from holding any form of office within the royal household. This was because the queen intervened and had Louise made a member of her staff, who were exempt. Catherine, who had so hated Barbara Palmer, was more inclined to like Louise, who treated her with respect and was companionable. The queen may not have liked how her husband lived but she learned to put up with it as best she could.
    Louise was with Charles when he died. She had been his constant companion throughout his illness and brought him solace at the end of his life, also insisting that he receive confession and absolution from a Catholic priest before he died.
    After Charles’s death Louise returned to France. England had not wanted her, did not like her, and James was not going to keep up her pension if he could help it. She did not live within her much diminished means and soon got into debt. Louis XIV and then the regent Philippe d’Orléans came to her rescue, bailed her out of her financial woes and settled a comfortable pension on her. She lived to be a venerable 85 years.

T HE MISTRESSES OF G EORGE
A UGUSTUS , P RINCE OF W ALES

    George IV
M ARY ‘P ERDITA ’ R OBINSON ( NÉE D ARBY )
    Mary Darby (1758–1800) was born into a comfortable and loving home. In her memoirs she describes it in great and affectionate detail. This cosy, safe world was suddenly whipped away from her when the family discovered why their father had