Charles II, Lucy Walter, and the Stuart Courts in Exile

Abstract This article examines the challenges to maintaining royal authority during periods of exile by focusing on the relationship between Charles II and Lucy Walter, who became the king’s mistress and the mother of his firstborn child James, the future Duke of Monmouth. As a king in exile, Charles was without recourse to the machinery and institutions of government. While Charles and his agents often found it difficult to secure the obedience of his subjects and of other members of the royal family, Lucy Walter proved to be particularly troublesome in this regard. Lucy’s actions highlight at once the resourcefulness, relative freedom, and precarious position of exiles. As an unwed mother and former mistress, she lacked financial stability and spent the last decade of her short life in search of support from various quarters. The relationship between Charles II and Lucy Walter therefore sheds important light on central aspects of the experience of exile, the extent of royal authority, and the limitations and opportunities encountered by king and exiles alike.