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A look at the collection of portraits of prominent women in the court of Charles II of England.
King Charles II of England had an appetite for the ladies. Known for his numerous mistresses and abundance of bastards, nobody could deny that Charles appreciated the female form. His sister-in-law, Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York, also had an eye for female beauty. She commissioned the painter Sir Peter Lely to paint portraits of the prominent women of Charles’ court. Some of the ladies were noblewomen married to high ranking courtiers.
The portraits initially were kept in the Duke of York’s chambers, but at some point were moved to a dressing room in Windsor Palace, which is how they came to be known as “The Windsor Beauties.” The notorious Samuel Pepys commented on the portraits that they “were good, but not like.” He considered them flattering to the sitters.
In this article, we’ll take a brief look at the lovely women who were featured in this collection.
Elizabeth Percy, Countess of Northumberland
Elizabeth Wriothesly was the daughter of the Earl of Southampton. She first married Joscelin Percy, the 11th Earl of Northumberland. After his death, she remarried Ralph Montagu, who would become an earl, and after Elizabeth’s death, a duke. Elizabeth was a patron of Peter Lely and he…
