LA BELLE
See Also: MONEY
Frances
Stuart was raised in Paris as a member of the exiled English court of King
Charles II. Within it, she became a
favourite of Queen Henrietta Maria the dowager queen. Following the restoration of the monarchy in
1660 she was appointed to be a Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine of Braganza,
who was Charles's wife.
As
Frances entered her mid-teens, she came to be regarded as being a great beauty.
She became known as La Belle. The
monarch noted her attractiveness. Lady
Castlemaine was then the sovereign's principal mistress. She appreciated that the girl-woman might
become a rival in his affections. She
found herself unable to do anything to lessen her lover's interest in La Belle. The countess opted to cultivate a friendship
with her. Frances's response to her
situation was to be seen to be clinging on to her childhood. She did this by displaying a clear wish to
engage in children's games. She shied
away from any action that might be seen as indicating that she intended to
establish herself as a political figure within the court.
La
Belle's beauty was such that in 1667 the engraver John Roettier had her model
for the image of Britannia that he created for a medal. Five years later the image was to be employed
upon the tail side of copper coins that were issued by the Royal Mint.
As
Frances reached her twenties it was apparent that Charles was almost certainly
going to become less inclined to be as restrained in his pursuit of her as he
had been up until then. The widowed 3rd
Duke of Richmond was a patrilineal kinsman of the king. The possibility that he might wed La Belle
was mooted. The monarch indicated that
he might sanction the marriage if the duke made a suitable settlement upon his
prospective bride. However, the couple
calculated that ultimately Charles would not approve their match. Therefore, in 1667 they chose to elope. The sovereign's umbrage about this action was
profound. The pair did not return to the
court. Instead, they resided on one of
the duke's country estates.
The
following year Frances suffered a bout of smallpox. The possibility that she might have died
prompted Charles to drop his antagonism towards the couple. They were accepted back into the royal
circle. The Duchess of Portsmouth, the
king's latest principal mistress, regarded La Belle as being a potential
rival. However, Frances had no intention
of compromising her marriage.
It was
only in 1936 that the Mint stopped producing coins that carried the image of La
Belle as Britannia.
Location:
15 St James's Square, SW1Y 4LB. La Belle s
townhouse. (orange, pink)
David
Backhouse 2024