Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Winifred Wells.
“whose attractions included the ‘the carriage of a goddess and the physiognomy of a dreamy sheep’ (but Barbara compared her to a goose).”
Antonia Fraser…King Charles II.
Winifred, one of the Queen’s maids of honor, came from an ultra-royalist family, and she served Charles on and off as a lesser mistress for many years, causing him little duress (in comparison to any other mistresses), for “as her father had faithfully served Charles I she thought it would be ill become his daughter to decline to be served by Charles II.” (Grammont)
Warrington has also the following on her: “she was considered as one of Charles’s mistresses; but the ‘petite disgrace’ as Hamilton styles it, here related, occurred to another of the queen’s maids of honour, Mary Kirk, sister to the Countess of Oxford.”
hi, just found your page we have been doing our family tree and found winifred wells to be a relation - fasinating to hear what she was like please send any info!!
many thanks