Father Charles II of England Died February 17, 1718 | Name Charlotte Countess House House of Stuart | |
Issue Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore
Charles Lee, Viscount Quarendon
Edward Lee, Viscount Quarendon
Captain The Hon. James Lee
The Hon. Francis Lee
Lady Anne Morgan
The Hon. Charles Lee
George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield
The Hon. Francis Henry Fitzroy Lee
Lady Elizabeth Young
Barbara Browne, Lady Browne
Lady Mary Lee
The Hon. Fitzroy Lee
Vice Admiral The Hon. FitzRoy Henry Lee
The Hon. William Lee
The Hon. Thomas Lee
The Hon. John Lee
Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield Mother Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland Spouse Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield (m. 1677) Children Charlotte Lee, Lady Balti, George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, FitzRoy Henry Lee, Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield Parents Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Charles II of England Similar People Charles II of England, Barbara Palmer - 1st Duchess, Roger Palmer - 1st Earl of Ca, Anne Lennard - Countess, Charles Beauclerk - 1st Duke |
Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield (5 September 1664 – 17 February 1718), formerly Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England by one of his best known mistresses, Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Contents
Family
She was the fourth child and second daughter of Barbara Palmer nee Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine who was by then separated but still married to Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine. Castlemaine did not father any of his wife's children; rather, Charlotte and her siblings were the illegitimate offspring of their mother's royal lover, Charles II. The king acknowledged her as his daughter and so she bore the surname of Fitzroy – "son of the King".
She was the favourite niece of James, Duke of York, younger brother of Charles II, who would later reign as James II. "We know but little of her except that she was beautiful;" she "rivaled her mother in beauty, but was far unlike her in every other respect." As the Duchess of Cleveland was known for her diabolical nature, the implication here is that Charlotte was a sweet-tempered and pleasing person; one memoirist attests to that assumption, describing Lady Lichfield as "a very good and virtuous lady." It is said that the king had a greater value and love for this lady than he had for his other children.
Marriage and issue
On 16 May 1674, before her tenth birthday, Lady Charlotte was contracted to Sir Edward Lee, and married on 6 February 1677 at twelve years of age. When Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox died in 1673, Sir Edward was created Earl of Lichfield.
Together they had eighteen children: