Nell Gwyn 1650 – 1687

Nell Gwyn

‘Pretty, Witty Nell.’

Eleanor ‘Nell’ Gwyn was the infamous mistress of Charles II of England.  She was the only royal mistress to ever be popular with the ‘common’ people.  The ‘rags to riches’ tale of her life, has led to her becoming something of a folk heroine.

            Nell Gwyn was born in 1650, although the actual place of her birth has been disputed, she did spend her early years living in Covent Garden.  Her mother, the equally infamous Madame Gwyn, ran a Bawdy House (Brothel) and it is possible that Nell may have been a child prostitute. 

            During the years 1663-67, Nell experimented with cross-dressing, complete with false beard, and went about under the name of William Nell.  She was also an orange seller at the King’s Theatre, London, where she stood out due to her natural wit and lack of self-consciousness.  At age 14, Nell gave up selling oranges and took to the stage.  With her good looks and lively wit, she soon became something of a star, appearing mainly in the new form of restoration comedies.

            In 1668, Nell Gwyn became one of the mistresses of King Charles II.  They had two illegitimate children, Charles 1670-1726 and James 1671-1680.  Both were given the surname Beauclerk.  Although not greedy and grasping like her rivals, King Charles still gave Nell a rather generous yearly pension, as well as many properties.  She never received any titles for herself, but her son, Charles, later became Duke of St. Albans.  James died whilst away at school in France.

            When King Charles II died in 1685, his last words, to his brother James II, were ‘Let not poor Nelly starve.’  James kept his promise by paying off all of Nell’s debts, as well as giving her a pension of 1500 pounds a year.  He had tried to pressure Nell into converting to Roman Catholicism but she strongly resisted.  After all, she was the protestant whore.

            Nell continued to live a fairly comfortable life until March 1687, when she suffered a stroke that left her paralysed down one side.  A second stroke just two months later left her confined to bed.  She died from Apoplexy in November of the same year.  Although she left behind a considerable amount of debt, she did manage to leave a small legacy to the prisoners of Newgate Prison, London.  She was buried in the church at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.