Born into a noble French family in Brittany, Louise de Kerouaille’s road to the English Court, and to Charles II’s bed, passed through Charles’s sister, Henrietta Anne Stuart, Duchess of Orleans. Her family, focusing on a well-worn path to prominence, originally tried to have Louise noticed by Louis XIV of France and become a royal mistress. Louis didn’t bite, but the royal mistress thing worked out in the end – possibly as part of a spy plot to keep the French informed about the goings-on in England.
In 1670, Louise accompanied Henrietta on a diplomatic mission to Dover, where Charles was trying to bypass Parliament and secure some funding from the French. Henrietta, unfortunately, died unexpectedly around this time, leaving Louise in a bit of a predicament. No worries: Charles II appointed the attractive 21-year-old as a lady-in-waiting to his wife, ensuring her presence at Court. In 1672, Louise joined the Charles II Baby Mama Club, and the following year was given the titles Baroness Petersfield, Countess of Fareham, and Duchess of Portsmouth for life.
Whether Charles II knew or cared about the financial support and gifts that Louise was given by Louis XIV is not known, but the English people had a good sense of what was going on, and Louise was profoundly unpopular with the English public – a striking contrast to Nell Gwyn.
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