So in 1675, Hortense Mancini fled France to hang out in London during the Restoration era. She truly took the city by storm with her superpowered beauty and scandalous ways. But in order to appreciate just what an effect she had, we need to talk for a minute about what London was like P.H. (Pre-Hortense). This week we learn about what Charles II had been up to since he unsuccessfully tried to marry teen Hortense (like being a volunteer firefighter, sexy Captain Hook impersonator, and oh yeah being the literal King) as well as info about his mistresses Moll Davis, Nell Gwyn, Barbara Villiers, and Louise de Carouelle AND also the jewel heist saga of Thomas Blood.
References:
Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II by Linda Porter
The Kings’ Mistresses: The Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin by Elizabeth C. Goldsmith https://bookshop.org/a/1419/9781586488895
https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/sex-scandals-and-betrayals-charles-ii-and-his-court/ article by RE Pritchard
Leading Ladies: the many mistresses of Charles II wielded real political power by Annalisa Nicholson (History Extra magazine)
Rex Factor podcast about Charles II https://play.acast.com/s/rexfactor/44.charlesii-restoration-
Info about how to take action after the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade is at http://podvoices.help
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