17 Facts About Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth

1. She was born Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille on September of 1649 into an upper class family in Brittany, a region located in the northwest of France.

2. She was first introduced into the royal household through Henrietta Anne Stuart, Duchess of Orléans, sister-in-law of Louis XIV of France and favorite sister of King Charles II.

3.  According to memoirist Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Louise’s family threw her in the way of Louis XIV with the goal of making her a royal mistress.

4. After Henrietta’s unexpected death, Charles requested Louis XIV to send Louise to England. She was then designated by the king as the new lady-in-waiting to his wife the queen, Catherine of Braganza.

5. She showed utmost respect to the queen consort, as opposed to the king’s previous mistress, Barbara Palmer, who would blatantly insult Catherine.

6. Charles Robinet, a French poet, once complimented Louise while she was serving for Henrietta, saying she was “as sweet as she is beautiful”. On the other hand, diarist John Evelyn spoke about her “baby face”.

7. Numerous accounts claim that Louise was tasked by the French court to ensnare King Charles II. One substantial proof of which being the massive support she had received from France including honors and gifts from Louis XIV himself. Because of her loyalty to her mother country, she was ill-favored by the English people.



8. One time, Louis XIV gave her a pair of earrings that cost £ 18,000, the most expensive gift he had given to Great Britain that year. It was way more luxurious than anything he had bestowed the queen!

9. Her first and only child with the king, a son named after the latter, was born on 1672. The scion was created Duke of Richmond three years later.

10. Louise was nicknamed by her rival mistress Nell Gwynn as “Squintibella” and “Weeping Pillow”, for the former had the tendency to cry.

11. Charles would affectionately call her, “Fubbs”, which was a reference to her plump and chubby figure. In fact, a royal yacht was named HMY Fubss in 1682.

12. She was given three titles on August 19th, 1673—Baroness Petersfield, Countess of Fareham, and Duchess of Portsmouth. She was also conferred the title Duchess of Aubigny by the Peerage of France December of the same year, as per King Charles II’s request.

13. She had a deep understanding of the king’s character, which made it easy for her to get a hold of him.

14. She was one of three women –along with Nell Gwynn and the queen—who were in the king’s thoughts before he died. One of Charles’s dying instructions to his brother was to “do well by Portsmouth”.

15. The king’s demise spelled the downfall of Louise’s power. She flew back to and retired in France and never returned to England except for one short visit during the reign of James II.

16. She spent her last years in Aubigny, facing a multitude of debts. She died on November 14th 1734 at the age of 85.
17. Interestingly, both of Prince Charles’s wives are Louise’s descendants—Diana, Princess of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.