The same as you! Nell Gwyn

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The same as you! Nell Gwyn

Eleanor Gwynne, who was more famous as Nell Gwyn, was very fortunate in her life. She worked as an actress, and she, probably, remained unknown, if the destiny didn’t bring her a present. She became king’s Charles II’s favorite.

King Charles, the king of England, was an exceptionally amorous man. Many courtiers even earned money, introducing cute and frankly young girls to the monarch. Sometimes the king managed to visit a few lovers in different rooms for one night. In 1668 duke of Buckingham actively favored Eleanor Gwynne, who was only eighteen by that time. The king liked the girl a lot and often visited her, in spite of the fact that his main darling was Barbara Wailers.

Eleanor liked the king too. Two years later, on 8 May 1670, she bore him a boy, who was called Charles. There were enough of bastards of Karl II, so that was not a big occasion at the court. It should be mentioned that the king, to his honor, didn’t leave his children without attention and sooner or later gave them positions. For example, Nell Gwyn’s son was given the title of duke of St. Albans by the king.

However, Charles II was not only amorous, he also had wide views. It was impossible to say that one of his lovers was more precious to him than the others, he loved them all, not taking into account their religion and title. But people of England had opposite views in relation of the king’s darlings. So, they considered one of the king’s lovers, Louise de Crual, the reason of all misfortunes and high taxes. It should be mentioned that she was known in history as a French spy. The hatred to Louise was expressed in different ways, sometimes even openly.

Once, when a carriage with the royal arms moved in the city, the citizens noticed a fashionable hat in it and decided that the hated catholic was in it. The excited crowd surrounded the carriage and started to shout out curses and offensive words against Louise. The passenger was surrounded with bad language, cursing her. Londoners even started to shake the carriage, crying out:

– Beach! Traitress! Witch! Catholic whore! Get away from England!

But the citizens made a rude mistake, that time there was another lover of the king, Nell Gwyn. He kept patience for some time and a few times she asked the coachman to drive faster, but there was nothing he could do, the carriage could hardly move in the crowd. Finally, Gwyn was fed up with the situation and she showed her ginger head out of the window and shouted to the raging crowd:

– Yes, I’m a whore of your king! It’s no use insulting me, because I’m the same as you, a Protestant whore!