Was King Charles II Britain's most promiscuous monarch? The Mail's Robert Hardman and historian Kate Williams examine the lives of three of his many mistresses in new podcast
He was the 'merry monarch', the King who loved nothing more than a romp in the hay and a booze-fuelled party.
King Charles II is believed to have fathered at least 12 illegitimate children and had numerous lovers - but he never produced an heir with his wife, Catherine of Braganza.
His favourite mistresses included Barbara Villiers, actress Nell Gwynn and Welsh beauty Lucy Walters.
Now, the 17th-century monarch's relationship with those three women is being explored in the fifth episode of new Daily Mail podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things.
Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and his co-presenter Professor Kate Williams examine whether Charles was Britain's most promiscuous monarch.
Mr Hardman says of Charles: 'This week, we're turning our attention to someone who can only be described as one of the most prolific womanizers in royal history.
'A man who was an early fashion innovator, a scientific innovator, a man who ushered in a new era of hedonism and partying.
'A man whose illegitimate children numbered at least a dozen, and whose sexual appetite saw him compared to a racehorse.'
Listen to the latest episode: Was King Charles II Britain's most sex-mad monarch?
King Charles II's extraordinary promiscuity is examined in the latest episode of Daily Mail podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things. Above: Rufus Sewell as the monarch alongside Emma Pierson as mistress Nell Gwynn in 2003 BBC series Charles II: The Power and the Passion
King Charles II (pictured) was born at St James's Palace on May 29, 1630 and was the eldest surviving son of Charles I
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Barbara Villiers, the Countess of Castlemaine, was perhaps Charles' best-known mistress.
Known as a sensational beauty, she gave birth to five of of the King's illegitimate children.
She had joined Charles's court when he was still in exile in Holland. So by the time he became the King when the monarchy was restored in 1660, Barbara had a firm place in his affections.
Charles got her pregnant even before he got married to Catharine of Braganza, and then appointed Barbara as his wife's lady of the bedchamber.
She ultimately fell out of favour when the King turned his affections to actress Nell Gwynn, who had worked her way up from selling oranges on Drury Lane.
The Duke of Buckingham, keen to usurp Barbara's dominant position at court, had presented the beautiful Nell to the King in the hope he would be enamoured.
The King became so besotted by her that he kept a naked portrait of her in a secret compartment in his bedroom.
She too gave birth to his children and was given money and titles. The King even ensured that she would be provided for after his death.
And he made her son the Duke of St Albans after being horrified at the way she referred to him as a 'little b******' in front of him.
Charles had lost his virginity to his former wet nurse, Christaballa Wyndham, when he was 15 and she was in her late 30s.
But his first mistress was - when he was 18 and in exile - Lucy Walter.
His relationship with the Welsh beauty led to the birth of James, who the King made the Duke of Monmouth.
But within two years of their relationship starting, Charles had left the continent for Scotland, where he had hoped to regain his birthright.
The fifth episode of new Daily Mail podcast, Queen's Kings and Dastardly Things, airs from today
The podcast is presented by Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams
Barbara Villiers, the Countess of Castlemaine, was perhaps Charles' best-known mistress
Actress Nell Gwynn, who had worked her way up from selling oranges on Drury Lane
Charles' first mistress was Welsh beauty Lucy Walter. His relationship with her led to the birth of James, the Duke of Monmouth
Lucy refused to give up on their romance and was persuaded by the King's friends to return to England in exchange for a yearly allowance.
But Oliver Cromwell - then ruling England as Lord Protector - had her arrested and put in the Tower of London.
She was then freed and, now penniless, was sent back to the Netherlands.
Professor Williams calls her treatment 'murky' and questions why Lucy was sent to England when Charles' friends knew that Cromwell would suspect her.
As she and Mr Hardman reveal in the podcast, her association with the King did not have a happy ending.
Her son, the Duke of Monmouth, would go on to launch a rebellion against Charles's successor and brother, King James II.
Meanwhile, as the King was cavorting with his mistresses, his wife had been marginalised.
Artist Kitty Shannon's depiction of King Charles II with his mistresses Nell Gwynn, Louise de Kérouaille and Hortense Mancini
The Portuguese queen had tried to stop mistress Barbara from becoming her lady of the bedchamber, but the King insisted and even cruelly sent her Portuguese ladies in waiting home.
Professor Williams says: 'So it's a very hard life. And on top of that, she knows that people don't like her because she's Catholic.
'She knows that people think that she's an influence on the King because she's Catholic.'
Mr Hardman adds: 'It is interesting Kate to think of these two sides of Charles II. There's the fun loving, carousing monarch, but he's also got a very dark side, too.'
France's Louis XIV - well aware of the King's libido - sent the beautiful Louise de Kérouaille to influence his rival.
She was tasked with promoting the interests of France and Catholicism while lying with the King.
But on one debauched night with Louise and two other mistresses in 1685, the King fell seriously ill and had to be treated by royal doctors.
George Sanders as King Charles II alongside Linda Darnell as character Amber St Clair in the 1947 film Forever Amber
But the 'cures' the medics administered did not help their charge, instead causing him great agony.
The King died four days later, on February 6, 1685. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Leaving no heir, his brother James II succeeded the throne.
To hear the experts' overall verdict on Charles, listen to episode five of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things - which is released today - wherever you get your podcasts.
Robert Hardman is the author of books including Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II and Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.
Professor Kate Williams is the author of the recent book The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals, along with many other works.
King Charles II: The Merry Monarch
Charles was born at St James' Palace on 1630. By the time he was 19, his father – King Charles I – had been executed on the orders of Parliament.
The younger Charles fled to Europe before initially returning to the British Isles in 1650, when he landed in Scotland and was crowned at Scone.
However, his forces were then defeated at the Battle of Worcester, and so Charles had to flee again.
He spent weeks on the run in England, at one point hiding in a great oak tree at Boscobel House in Shropshire.
Charles was born at St James' Palace on 1630. By the time he was 19, his father – King Charles I – had been executed on the orders of Parliament
It is for this reason that hundreds of pubs across Britain are called The Royal Oak.
Charles made it to the relative safety of France before he got his chance to return following Cromwell's death in 1658.
When Cromwell's son Richard resigned as his successor, Parliament decided to restore the monarchy in 1660.
Charles became King and set about seeking vengeance against those held responsible for killing his father.
He was on the throne through the tumult of a major outbreak of the plague that killed 100,000 people and then the Great Fire of London in 1666.
His reign was characterised by licentiousness that contrasted starkly with the puritanism of Cromwell's rule as Lord Protector.
Whereas theatres and pubs (and Christmas) were banned under Cromwell, Charles oversaw the joyous return of drinking, gambling and other forms of excess.
He ruled until his death in 1685, when he was succeeded by his brother, King James II.
