by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and her daughter Lady Barbara Fitzroy; Credit – Attributed to Thomas Pooley – http://www.galleryofthemasters.com/p-folder/pooley-thomas-john-stearne.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95769829

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Born July 16, 1672, at her mother’s home, Cleveland House in London, England, Lady Barbara Fitzroy was the illegitimate daughter of Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. Around the time of Lady Barbara’s birth, Louise de Kérouaille was replacing her mother as King Charles II’s primary mistress. There are questions about Lady Barbara’s paternity. Barbara Palmer had several lovers before Lady Barbara’s conception. Her mother claimed that she was King Charles II’s daughter but possibly she was the daughter of her mother’s second cousin and lover John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, who Lady Barbara resembled, was also a lover of Barbara Palmer. Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, the husband of Lady Barbara’s mother, believed her to be his daughter, and left his estate to her. King Charles II informally recognized Lady Barbara by giving her the surname Fitzroy. The surname Fitzroy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king.

Lady Barbara’s mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

Lady Barbara’s mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661. Barbara Villiers was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, she married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes. In 1660, Barbara became Charles’ mistress.

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides her namesake, Barbara gave birth to five other children and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemaine in 1661.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of Lady Barbara, if she was his child. At the very least, they are her half-siblings.

• Lady Anne FitzRoy (1661 – 1721), married Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre, 1st Earl of Sussex, had four children
• Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton (1662 – 1730), married (1) Mary Wood, no children (2) Anne Pulteney, had six children
• Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663 – 1690), married Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of
• Arlington in her own right, had one son
  Lady Charlotte Fitzroy (1664 – 1718), married Edward Lee, 1st Earl Lichfield, had eighteen children
• George Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1665 – 1716), married (1) Catherine Wheatley, no children (2) Mary Dutton, no children

On November 22, 1689, 17-year-old Lady Barbara became a novice at the Benedictine English Priory of St. Nicholas in Pontoise, Normandy, France, taking the name Sister Benedicta. On April 2, 1691, Lady Barbara professed her final vows as a nun. In 1721, Lady Barbara became prioress of the convent. On May 6, 1737, Lady Barbara, aged sixty-five, died at the Benedictine English Priory and was buried in the church there. There are claims that Lady Barbara had an illegitimate son with James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton. However, many historians find it unlikely because the supposed child, Sir Charles Hamilton, was born in 1691, two years after Lady Barbara entered the English Priory of St. Nicholas in Pontoise, France as a novice.

Memorial to Lady Barbara at the Cathédrale Saint-Maclou de Pontoise in Pontoise, France; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• Lady Barbara FitzRoy. (2024, June 2). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Barbara_FitzRoy
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

George Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Northumberland; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on December 28, 1665, in a Fellow’s chamber (a Fellow is a member of the teaching staff) at Merton College, University of Oxford in Oxford, England, George Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Northumberland was the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses, Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. The surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. George’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). His maternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning.

George’s mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

George’s mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661. Barbara was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, Barbara married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes. In 1660, Barbara became King Charles II’s mistress.

Besides George, Barbara gave birth to five other children and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemaine in 1661.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of George:

• Lady Anne FitzRoy (1661 – 1721), married Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre, 1st Earl of Sussex, had four children
• Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton (1662 – 1730), married (1) Mary Wood, no children (2) Anne Pulteney, had six children
• Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663 – 1690), married Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington in her own right, had one son
• Lady Charlotte Fitzroy (1664 – 1718), married Edward Lee, 1st Earl Lichfield, had eighteen children
• Barbara FitzRoy (1672–1737), unmarried but had an illegitimate son; she became a nun taking the name Sister Benedicta; her mother claimed that she was Charles II’s daughter but she was may have been the child of her mother’s second cousin and lover John Churchill, later 1st Duke of Marlborough

On October 1, 1674, nine-year-old George was officially recognized by his father King Charles II, and was created Earl of Northumberland, Baron of Pontefract, and Viscount Falmouth. The following year, he was created Duke of Northumberland. In 1684, Henry fought on the side of the French in the Siege of Luxembourg, when the French successfully laid siege to the Spanish-controlled Fortress of Luxembourg. That same year, George was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter. The diarist John Evelyn wrote of George, he was “the most accomplished and worth owning of Charles II’s children, and a young gentleman of good capacity, well bred, civil, and modest…extraordinarily handsome and well shaped and skilled in horsemanship.”

On February 2, 1685, King Charles II suffered an apparent stroke and died four days later at the age of 54. Modern analysis of his symptoms seems to indicate he may have died from uremia, a symptom of kidney failure. Charles knew his death would affect his illegitimate children. While on his deathbed, he implored his brother and successor, the soon-to-be King James II, to “be kind to George, as I am sure he will be honest and loyal.”

In March 1686, George secretly married Catherine Wheatley, the daughter of Robert Wheatley of Bracknell and the widow of Thomas Lucy, a captain in the Royal Horse Guards. George’s paternal uncle King James II was quite angry as he had just negotiated a marriage for George with a daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle. George and his brother Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton attempted to repair the situation with their uncle by secretly placing Catherine in an English convent in Ghent, Belgium. When King James II realized the injustice done to George’s wife Catherine, he ordered George’s brother Henry to bring her back to England immediately. Although George and Catherine remained married, he refused to live with her. Instead, he lived with his mistress Mary Dutton who would eventually become his second wife.

George’s paternal uncle King James II; Credit – Wikipedia

Unlike his brother Henry, George remained loyal to his uncle King James II, and he did not plot to replace him with James II’s elder daughter Mary, and her husband and first cousin William III, Prince of Orange (the future King William III and Queen Mary II). In 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, when William and Mary overthrew King James II and reigned jointly, George refused to join them. However, in 1689, when his royal pensions had not been paid, he was forced to make peace with his first cousins William and Mary. However, George did not receive any positions during the reign of William and Mary (Mary died in 1694 and William died in 1702) until the year before William’s death – William considered him “a great blockhead – when he was appointed Constable of Windsor Castle.

As William and Mary’s marriage was childless, Mary’s younger sister Anne succeeded to the throne when William died in 1702. George had more luck in obtaining positions during the reign of his first cousin Queen Anne. However, when Queen Anne died in 1714, leaving no heirs from the House of Stuart, George, Elector of Hanover, succeeded to the throne as King George I and George was dismissed from all the posts listed below.

1703: Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse
1710: Lieutenant-General
1710: Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
1712: Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
1713: Member of the Privy Council and Chief Butler of England

Frogmore House as it would have looked when George lived there

In 1714, George’s wife-in-name-only Catherine Wheatley died and he married his long-time mistress Mary Dutton. George and Mary had lived for years at Frogmore House, on the grounds of the Home Park in Windsor, England, near Windsor Castle. George was the first (quasi) royal resident of Frogmore House. On June 28, 1716, fifty-year-old George Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Northumberland died suddenly at Frogmore House. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England, in the Duke of Albemarle’s Vault in the north aisle of the Henry VII Chapel. After his death, George’s wife Mary continued to live at Frogmore House until she died in 1738. Both George’s wives were buried in the Duke of Albemarle’s Vault in Westminster Abbey. A stone with the names of those buried in the vault was added in 1869. The names of George and his first wife Catherine Wheatley are on the stone but not the name of his second wife Mary Dutton.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• George FitzRoy, Duke of Northumberland. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_FitzRoy,_Duke_of_Northumberland
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Lady Charlotte Fitzroy (Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield); By Godfrey Kneller – Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36062608

(Not to be confused with her half-sister Charlotte FitzRoy, Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth, illegitimate daughter of King Charles II and Elizabeth Killigrew.)

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Also known by her married name Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, Lady Charlotte Fitzroy was born in London, England on September 5, 1664, the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and and one of his mistresses, Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. The surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Charlotte’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). Her maternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning.

Charlotte’s mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte’s mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661. Barbara was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, Barbara married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes. In 1660, Barbara became King Charles II’s mistress.

Besides Charlotte, Barbara gave birth to five other children and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemaine in 1661.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of Charlotte:

• Lady Anne FitzRoy (1661 – 1721), married Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre, 1st Earl of Sussex, had four children
• Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton (1662 – 1730), married (1) Mary Wood, no children (2) Anne Pulteney, had six children
• Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663 – 1690), married Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington in her own right, had one son
• George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1665–1716), married (1) Catherine Wheatley, no children (2) Mary Dutton, no children
• Barbara FitzRoy (1672–1737), unmarried but had an illegitimate son; she became a nun taking the name Sister Benedicta; her mother claimed that she was Charles II’s daughter but she was may have been the child of her mother’s second cousin and lover John Churchill, later 1st Duke of Marlborough

Charlotte Fitzroy By Peter Lely; Credit – http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/intro/docs/lely.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73343860

Charlotte was raised by a governess at Berkshire House, her mother’s home in London, after 1670 known as Cleveland House, and now known as Bridgewater House. She was the favorite niece of her paternal uncle James, Duke of York, later King James II of England. Very little is known of her childhood. The 19th-century historian John Heneage Jesse wrote, “We know but little of her except that she was beautiful.” Charlotte was the subject of a painting (above) by Sir Peter Lely, King Charles II’s Principal Painter in Ordinary. She is seated with her Indian page, dressed in pink, holding a bunch of grapes.

Charlotte Fitzroy and her husband Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, as children; Credit – Wikipedia

Four months before her tenth birthday, on May 16, 1674, Charlotte was betrothed to eleven-year-old Edward Lee, the son and heir of Sir Francis Henry Lee, 4th Baronet of Quarendon and Lady Elizabeth Pope. At the time of the betrothal, Edward was created 1st Earl Lichfield with the subsidiary titles Viscount Quarendon and Baron Spelsbur. In 1676, Charlotte’s mother took her to France where she was educated in a convent for a year. She returned to England the following year and having reached puberty, thirteen-year-old Charlotte and fourteen-year-old Edward were married on February 6, 1677.

Charlotte and Edward had eighteen children and eleven survived childhood:

• Lady Charlotte Lee (1678 – 1721), married (1) Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, had six children (2) Christopher Crowe, had four children
• Charles Lee, Viscount Quarendon (born and died 1680), died in infancy
• Edward Henry Lee, Viscount Quarendon (1681 – 1713), unmarried
• Captain The Honorable James Lee (1682 – 1711), unmarried
• The Honorable Francis Lee (born and died 1685), died in infancy
• Lady Anne Lee (1686 – 1716?), unmarried
• The Honorable Charles Lee (1688 – 1708), unmarried
• George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (1690 – 1743), married Frances Hales, had three sons and five daughters
• The Honorable Francis Henry Fitzroy Lee (1692 – 1730), unmarried
• Lady Elizabeth Lee (1693 – 1741), married (1) Francis Lee, a cousin, had one son and two daughters (2) Edward Young, had one son
• Lady Barbara Lee (1695 – 1729), married Sir George Browne, 3rd Baronet of Kiddington, had one daughter
• Lady Mary Isabella Lee (born and died 1697)
• The Honorable Fitzroy Lee (1698 – ?), died young
• Vice Admiral The Honorable FitzRoy Henry Lee (1700 – 1751), unmarried
• The Honorable William Lee (1701 – ?), died young
• The Honorable Thomas Lee (1703 – ?), died young
• The Honorable John Lee (1704 – ?), died young
• Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706 – 1776), married Catherine Stonhouse, no children

Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield; By Godfrey Kneller – http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/COL20070427_3851/26.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3836410

Charlotte and Edward lived at the Lee family estate in Ditchley, Oxfordshire, England. Edward was Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1687 – 1689. He commanded Lichfield’s Regiment (now known as the Suffolk Regiment), an infantry regiment in the English Army, until his dismissal following the 1688 Glorious Revolution for his support of Charlotte’s paternal uncle, the overthrown King James II. Charlotte’s first cousins and husband and wife William III, Prince of Orange and Princess Mary of England, the elder of the two daughters of King James II, overthrew King James II and reigned England jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II.

Both Charlotte and Edward were staunch Jacobites, whose goal was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/VII of Scotland and his Roman Catholic heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland. Edward played a prominent role during the Williamite War (1689 – 1691) in Ireland when supporters of the former King James II unsuccessfully attempted to retake the English throne from King William III and Queen Mary II. In 1702, Charlotte asked her first cousin Queen Anne, the younger daughter of King James II, if she could come to court, and was told not until her husband swore an oath of loyalty to Queen Anne, which he refused to do.

All Saints Church in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England where Charlotte and her husband are buried in the churchyard; By neil hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9112137

Charlotte’s husband Edward Lee, 1st Earl Lichfield died on July 14, 1716, aged 53 in London, England, and was buried in the churchyard at All Saints Church in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England. Less than two years later, Charlotte died in London, England on February 17, 1718, aged 53, and was buried with her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield. geni_family_tree. (2022, April 26). https://www.geni.com/people/Charlotte-Lee-Countess-of-Lichfield/5326648104210121832
• Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Lee,_Countess_of_Lichfield
• Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee,_1st_Earl_of_Lichfield
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Lady Anne FitzRoy; Credit – www.wikidata.org

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Lady Anne FitzRoy circa 1665 by court painter Sir Peter Lely; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on February 25, 1661, in Westminster, London, England, Anne was known by three names during her life: her name at birth, Lady Anne Palmer, her name after King Charles II of England recognized her, Lady Anne FitzRoy, and her married name Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. The surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Anne was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England and one of his mistresses Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland in her own right. Anne’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). Her maternal grandparents were William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning.

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, the future King Charles II, then Prince of Wales, was sent out of England. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Until the Stuart Restoration in 1660, when the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland was restored and King Charles II returned to England, he lived in exile in various places.

Anne’s mother Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne’s mother was born in 1640 as Barbara Villiers, the only child of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison and Mary Bayning. In 1643, Barbara’s father died in the First English Civil War, leaving his 18-year-old widow and his three-year-old daughter in financial difficulty. Barbara’s mother soon married Charles Villiers, 2nd Earl of Anglesey, her late husband’s cousin. The marriage was childless and Barbara’s stepfather died from smallpox in 1661.

Barbara was considered one of the most beautiful of the young Royalist women but her lack of a dowry did not help her marriage prospects. In 1659, Barbara married the Roman Catholic Roger Palmer, later 1st Earl of Castlemaine, against his family’s wishes. At the end of 1659, Roger and his new wife left with other supporters of the exiled Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) joining him in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1660, Barbara became King Charles II’s mistress. After years of exile during the Commonwealth, on May 1, 1660, Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed in Dover, England, and on his 30th birthday, May 29, 1660, King Charles II entered London in a procession.

King Charles II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 25, 1661, Barbara gave birth to Anne, her first child. Anne was probably the daughter of King Charles II, although some people believed she resembled Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield. a lover of Anne’s mother but he was in France when Anne was conceived. Barbara did not doubt that King Charles II was Anne’s father. As a reward for Barbara’s services, Charles II created Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemaine in 1661. Despite not being Anne’s father, Roger Palmer always held her in high affection and made her his trustee and the chief beneficiary in his will.

Besides Anne, Barbara gave birth to five other children and it is surmised that they were all the children of King Charles II. Through their children, Barbara Palmer and King Charles II are the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York, and their children Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie.

The children of Barbara Palmer, probably the children of King Charles II, and therefore, probably the full siblings of Lady Anne FitzRoy:

• Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, 1st Duke of Southampton (1662–1730), married (1) Mary Wood, no children (2) Anne Pulteney, had six children
• Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690), married Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington, had one son
• Lady Charlotte FitzRoy (1664–1717), married Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, had eighteen children
• George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1665–1716), married (1) Catherine Wheatley, no children (2) Mary Dutton, no children
• Barbara FitzRoy (1672–1737), unmarried but had an illegitimate son; she became a nun taking the name Sister Benedicta; her mother claimed that she was Charles II’s daughter but she was may have been the child of her mother’s second cousin and lover John Churchill, later 1st Duke of Marlborough

In 1668, Anne’s mother sent her to be educated at the Visitation Convent in Chaillot, France, founded in 1651 by Anne’s paternal grandmother Queen Henrietta Maria who had returned to live in her native France. Anne was to be supervised by her grandmother but when Queen Henrietta Maria died the following year, Anne returned to England. Anne was again sent to France in 1671, to the Convent of English Benedictines in Pontoise, France where Lady Anne Neville was the Abbess. She returned to England after spending nearly two years at the convent.

Anne’s husband Thomas Dacre, 1st Earl of Sussex; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 11, 1674, at Hampton Court Palace, thirteen-year-old Anne was married to twenty-year-old Thomas Lennard, 15th Baron Dacre, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Anne’s father King Charles II and the first cousin of Anne’s mother Barbara Palmer. Thomas was created Earl of Sussex upon his marriage to Anne.

Anne and Thomas had four children. Only their two daughters survived childhood. When Thomas died in 1715, his earldom became extinct because he had no sons but his daughter Anne succeeded to his baroncy.

• Barbara Lennard (1676 – 1741), married Charles Skelton, a Lieutenant-General in the French army, no children
• Charles Lennard (1682 – 1684), died in early childhood
• Henry Lennard (born and died circa 1683), died in infancy
• Anne Lennard, 16th Baroness Dacre in her own right (1684 – 1755), married (1) Richard Barrett-Lennard, died a few months after their marriage, had one son Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 17th Baron Dacre (2) Henry Roper, 8th Baron Teynham, had two sons and one daughter (3) The Honorable Robert Moore, had one son (4) Joseph Williams, had one son

Anne’s husband Thomas was considered a “popular but extravagant man” who lost money gambling. In 1688, after the Glorious Revolution forced Anne’s paternal uncle King James II of England to vacate the throne in favor of his daughter (and Anne’s first cousin) Queen Mary II and her husband and first cousin (also Anne’s first cousin) King William III, Anne and Thomas separated and it seems their marriage was dissolved. Anne and her two daughters joined the former King James II in exile at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, France.

St. Peter and St. Paul New Church in Lyynsted, Swale Borough, Kent, England where Anne is buried in the churchyard; Credit – By pam fray, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13214529

Anne eventually returned to England where she died on May 16, 1721, at the age of 60, and was buried in the churchyard at St. Peter and St. Paul New Church in Lyynsted, Swale Borough, Kent, England. As for her former husband Thomas, due to his debts, he was forced to sell his 15th-century estate Herstmonceux Castle in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England in 1708, and died in 1715.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Mistress of King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/barbara-palmer-1st-duchess-of-cleveland-mistress-of-king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Lennard,_Countess_of_Sussex
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lennard,_1st_Earl_of_Sussex

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Charlotte Fitzroy; Credit – https://gw.geneanet.org

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife Catherine of Braganza. Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

(Not to be confused with her half-sister Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, illegitimate daughter of King Charles II and his mistress Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland.)

Born in 1650 in Paris, France, Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria FitzRoy was the illegitimate daughter of the future King Charles II of England and Elizabeth Killigrew. Her surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Charlotte’s paternal grandparents were King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France (the daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici). Her maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Killigrew, the Vice Chamberlain to Queen Henrietta Maria, and Mary Woodhouse.

On October 24, 1638, at the King’s Chapel in the Palace of Whitehall in London, Charlotte’s mother Elizabeth Killigrew married Francis Boyle, the fourth surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. For his military services in support of King Charles II, Francis was created Viscount Shannon in 1660.

Elizabeth and Francis had five children, Charlotte’s half-siblings. Her half-siblings Francis, Charles, and Elizabeth probably died young.

• Francis Boyle
• Charles Boyle
• Elizabeth Boyle
• Richard Boyle (? – 1679), married Elizabeth Ponsonby, had at least one son Field Marshall Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon
• Bridget Boyle, married Colonel John Jephson, had at least one son

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and the Parliamentarian and Puritan forces. When the situation deteriorated in the spring of 1646, the future King Charles II, then Prince of Wales, was sent out of England and eventually settled in France, where his mother Queen Henrietta Maria already lived in exile with his sister Princess Henriette and where his young first cousin King Louis XIV was on the French throne. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Elizabeth Killigrew joined the royalist court-in-exile of Queen Henrietta Maria in France where she became one of the many mistresses of the queen’s son, the future King Charles II.

At the time of Charlotte FitzRoy’s birth in 1650, Elizabeth Killigrew was twenty-eight years old and the future King Charles II was only twenty. Elizabeth was the only mistress of Charles II who was older than him. King Charles II never publicly acknowledged Charlotte as his child. The reason for this may have been her mother’s desire to hide her affair. Charlotte was legally the daughter of her mother’s husband Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon.

When she was thirteen years old, Charlotte married James Howard, the son of Thomas Howard (son of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk) and Werburga van der Kerchove. James was a playwright, and two of his comedies, All Mistaken, or the Mad Couple and The English Monsieur starred Nell Gwynn, a mistress of King Charles II. James Howard died in July 1669, aged about 29.

Charlotte and James had one daughter:

• Stuarta Werburge Howard (1668 – 1706), unmarried, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary II

Oxnead Hall, the home of Charlotte and her second husband after 1683; Credit – By Glen Denny, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79121974

In 1671, Charlotte married for a second time to William Paston, the son of Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth. In 1683, William became the 2nd Earl of Yarmouth upon the death of his father. Charlotte was then Countess of Yarmouth. William inherited Oxnead Hall in Oxnead, Norfolk, England which became the home of Charlotte and William. William’s sons, brothers, and their male heirs predeceased him and his titles became extinct when he died in 1732. The Paston family is famous for the Paston Letters, a collection of letters between members of the Paston family and others written between 1422 and 1509. The letters are an important primary source of information about life in England during the Wars of the Roses and the early Tudor period.

Charlotte and William had four children:

• Charles Paston, Lord Paston (1673 – 1718), married Elizabeth Pitt, had one daughter
• Lady Charlotte Paston (1675 – 1736), married Thomas Herne
• Lady Rebecca Paston (1681 – 1726), married Sir John Holland, 2nd Baronet
• The Honorable William Paston (1682 – 1711)

Charlotte died suddenly, aged thirty-four, on July 28, 1684, at her home in London and was buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Elizabeth Boyle, Lady Shannon. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/Elizabeth-Boyle-Lady-Shannon/6000000000769939241
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Charles II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/
• Fraser, Antonia. (2002). King Charles II. Phoenix.
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Charlotte Paston, Countess of Yarmouth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Paston,_Countess_of_Yarmouth
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Elizabeth Killigrew, Viscountess Shannon. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Killigrew,_Viscountess_Shannon
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023a). William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Paston,_2nd_Earl_of_Yarmouth

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Katherine Plantagenet’s father, King Richard III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Katherine Plantagenet is one of the two recognized illegitimate children of King Richard III of England (reigned 1483 – 1485) and an unknown mother. Her date of birth is unknown but it is surmised that it was unlikely that Katherine was born before 1468, the year her father reached his sixteenth birthday. Some historians have suggested that Katherine’s mother may have been Katherine Haute who received an annual payment of five pounds from Richard and that Katherine Haute was the wife of James Haute, who was related by marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Katherine Plantagent’s paternal uncle King Edward IV of England. Katherine’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, a claimant to the English throne and the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle in 1460, and Cecily Neville. Both Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville were great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. John’s paternal uncle was King Edward IV of England.

Katherine had one royal half-brother from his father’s marriage to Anne Neville:

• Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (1473 – 1484), died in childhood

Nothing is known of Katherine’s childhood. The earliest mention of Katherine in contemporary documents is her marriage contract, dated February 29, 1484. The groom, William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon, agreed “ to take to wife Dame Katherine Plantagenet, daughter of the King before Michaelmas of that year”. William Herbert was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Devereux. He had succeeded his father as 2^nd Earl of Pembroke in 1469. William was a staunch Yorkist, and his first wife was Mary Woodville, the sister of Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of the Yorkist King Edward IV. William and Mary had one daughter, Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert, her father’s only child and heir. The death of William’s wife Mary Woodville in 1481 weakened his links with the House of York and he was forced to give up the Earldom of Pembroke with its accompanying lands in Wales to King Edward IV’s son, the future King Edward V, then the Prince of Wales. In compensation, William was created Earl of Huntingdon with less valuable lands in Somerset and Dorset.

The marriage of Katherine Plantagenet and William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon occurred between March and May 1484. In March 1484, there is documentation in contemporary records that Katherine and William were granted an annuity and land in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset.

The corpse of Richard III, King of England, found on the battlefield of Bosworth; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of Katherine’s father King Richard III was only two years. On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, 32-year-old King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader 28-year-old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became King Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Katherine’s husband William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon played no part in the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Katherine Plantagenet survived her father King Richard III but when she died is unknown. The last mention of her in contemporary records was in March 1485 when Katherine and her husband received an additional annuity from King Richard III. Katherine died before November 25, 1487, the date of the coronation of her first cousin Elizabeth of York, daughter of Katherine’s paternal uncle King Edward IV and the wife of King Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Katherine’s husband William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon is on a list of nobility who attended the coronation as “a widower.” Katherine would have been around nineteen years old and possibly she died in childbirth along with her child. Katherine was buried at St. James Garlickhythe Church in London. Originally built in the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt so all tombs were lost. Katherine’s husband William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon survived her by nearly four years, dying at the age of forty, on July 16, 1491, in Troy Parva, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was buried with his first wife Mary Woodville at Tintern Abbey in Tintern in Monmouthshire, Wales, which now lies in ruins.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Richard III of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-richard-iii-of-england/
• Higginbotham, Susan. (2013). Katherine Plantagenet, Richard III’s Illegitimate Daughter. History Refreshed: New Perspectives on Old Times. https://www.susanhigginbotham.com/posts/katherine-plantagenet-richard-iiis-illegitimate-daughter/
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Richard III of England. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England#Issue
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herbert,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke
• Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

John of Gloucester’s father, King Richard III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born circa 1468, John of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Richard III of England (reigned 1483 – 1485) and an unknown mother. He was called “of Gloucester” because his father was the Duke of Gloucester at the time of his birth. John was also called “of Pontefract” which may indicate that he was born at Pontefract Castle in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. John’s paternal grandparents were Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, a claimant to the English throne and the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until he died in battle in 1460, and Cecily Neville. Both Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville were great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. John’s paternal uncle was King Edward IV of England.

John had one royal half-brother from his father’s marriage to Anne Neville:

• Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (1473 – 1484), died in childhood

There is little information about John’s childhood. He was one of two knighted on September 8, 1483, during the celebrations in York when his half-brother Edward of Middleham was invested as Prince of Wales. In 1485, King Richard III appointed his teenage son John to the position of Captain of Calais. Calais, now part of France, was an English possession from 1347 to 1558.

The corpse of Richard III, King of England, found on the battlefield of Bosworth; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of John’s father King Richard III was only two years. On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, 32-year-old King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader 28-year-old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became King Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Soon after the Battle of Bosworth Field, King Henry VII removed John from the position of Captain of Calais. On March 1, 1486, King Henry VII granted John an annual income of twenty pounds. There are no further mentions of John of Gloucester in contemporary records after 1486.

As the son of a king of the House of York, even though he was illegitimate, John would have been a threat to the House of Tudor. Sir George Buck (circa 1560 – 1622), an English antiquarian, historian, scholar, and author, alleges in his 1619 book The History of King Richard III that John was imprisoned for some years before his supposed death in 1499. Buck wrote that in 1499, the year of the executions of Perkin Warbeck (a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the second son of King Edward IV and one of the “Princes in the Tower”) and Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (a potential claimant to the English throne, the only son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, the younger brother of King Edward IV), “there was a base son of King Richard III made away, and secretly, having been kept long before in prison.” Buck did not name the “base son of King Richard III” but he claimed that he was executed because an unspecified Irishman wanted to make him their ruler. John of Gloucester may have been held in prison for years and executed in 1499 but there are no other sources except Buck.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
• Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Richard III of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-richard-iii-of-england/
• Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). John of Gloucester. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Gloucester
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Richard III of England. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England#Issue
• Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. Cassell.