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A lowly actress who became a royal mistress
Royal mistresses were generally a certain type of woman. The majority of royal mistresses were well bred, aristocratic ladies who flitted in and out of high society, and had ample access to the King by virtue of their pedigree. One woman who became a noted mistress broke that mold: Nell Gwyn.
Nell was born either in 1650 or 1642, historians cannot be sure. Certainly her childhood was spent during the Commonwealth period of rule under Oliver Cromwell, when the monarchy was overthrown and the Puritans made strict reforms to society. In 1660, the rigidness of society changed when King Charles II was restored to the throne and undid many of the strict laws imposed under the Cromwells. One of the King’s first popular actions was the reinstatement of theaters, a popular form of entertainment that had been banned for a decade.
Nell’s mother allegedly ran a brothel and was friends with a woman named Merry Meggs. Meggs had a license to sell oranges at the theatre and recruited Nell and her sister to sell oranges to the audiences. The girls were scantily clad to attract buyers. In this role, Nell was exposed to the inner workings of the theatre, as the orange girls were often used to send messages between male audience members and actresses who had caught their eye. When the actresses were unavailable, the orange girls were…
