Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
Who was LUCY WALTER and was she Charles II’s secret wife and the woman who should have been Queen of England? If so, that would mean that Charles II’s son by her, James, Duke of Monmouth, was legitimate and the rightful heir to the throne after his father’s death in 1685, rather than his uncle, James II. The question of whether these two ever wed is therefore of critical importance.
Born in around 1630, Lucy was a Welshwoman who had made her way to France by 1648 where she became the mistress of Charles, Prince of Wales (as he was then). In 1649 she gave birth to their only child together. That same year Charles became the titular King of England, after the Parliamentarians executed his father, Charles I and abolished the monarchy. Over the next nine years the new King Charles and Lucy (who also went under the aliases Lucy Barlow and Lucy Barlo) had a fraught relationship as their romantic entanglement ended and Lucy became the mistress of several other men and moved around Europe, even ending up a prisoner in the Tower of London at one point. The King eventually removed their son from her care in 1658 and Lucy was dead by the end of the year, having supposedly confessed just before her end that she had married Charles.
Less than two years later Charles regained the throne in 1660, brought his illegitimate son to England and married Catherine of Braganza in 1662, but the couple had no children. This left his brother, James, Duke of York, as heir to the throne. He had converted to Catholicism however and there was therefore great interest in making the Protestant Duke of Monmouth heir in his place. This could only be accomplished if the boy was legitimate and for that, Charles and Lucy would need to have been wed before his birth. Charles however, always denied that he had married Lucy, despite the fact that it would have solved his problem of having no legitimate children. Was he telling the truth though? What evidence is there that he and Lucy married and was there really evidence of this secret royal wedding in a mysterious black box? In today’s Stuart history documentary from History Calling, we find out.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
THE STUARTS PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FpTGgZhdt94Jq0ollCJmN9
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLES I’S CORPSE?
youtu.be/71HpXT1q0EU
HOW JAMES II LOST THE THRONE
youtu.be/4uwpYY6njcE
WAS EDWARD IV A BIGAMIST?
youtu.be/Z2SnrL5p6qg
LEARN MORE:
[FREE] Robin Eagles, ‘The Mystery of the ‘Black Box’ and the ‘true’ heirs of Charles II’ at
thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/the-mystery-of-the-black-box-and-the-true-heirs-of-charles-ii
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
THUMBNAIL: Lucy Walter: Abbotsford, The Home of Sir Walter Scott accessed on ArtUK. Charles II: The Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Who was LUCY WALTER and was she Charles II’s secret wife and the woman who should have been Queen of England? If so, that would mean that Charles II’s son by her, James, Duke of Monmouth, was legitimate and the rightful heir to the throne after his father’s death in 1685, rather than his uncle, James II. The question of whether these two ever wed is therefore of critical importance.
Born in around 1630, Lucy was a Welshwoman who had made her way to France by 1648 where she became the mistress of Charles, Prince of Wales (as he was then). In 1649 she gave birth to their only child together. That same year Charles became the titular King of England, after the Parliamentarians executed his father, Charles I and abolished the monarchy. Over the next nine years the new King Charles and Lucy (who also went under the aliases Lucy Barlow and Lucy Barlo) had a fraught relationship as their romantic entanglement ended and Lucy became the mistress of several other men and moved around Europe, even ending up a prisoner in the Tower of London at one point. The King eventually removed their son from her care in 1658 and Lucy was dead by the end of the year, having supposedly confessed just before her end that she had married Charles.
Less than two years later Charles regained the throne in 1660, brought his illegitimate son to England and married Catherine of Braganza in 1662, but the couple had no children. This left his brother, James, Duke of York, as heir to the throne. He had converted to Catholicism however and there was therefore great interest in making the Protestant Duke of Monmouth heir in his place. This could only be accomplished if the boy was legitimate and for that, Charles and Lucy would need to have been wed before his birth. Charles however, always denied that he had married Lucy, despite the fact that it would have solved his problem of having no legitimate children. Was he telling the truth though? What evidence is there that he and Lucy married and was there really evidence of this secret royal wedding in a mysterious black box? In today’s Stuart history documentary from History Calling, we find out.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
THE STUARTS PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FpTGgZhdt94Jq0ollCJmN9
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLES I’S CORPSE?
youtu.be/71HpXT1q0EU
HOW JAMES II LOST THE THRONE
youtu.be/4uwpYY6njcE
WAS EDWARD IV A BIGAMIST?
youtu.be/Z2SnrL5p6qg
LEARN MORE:
[FREE] Robin Eagles, ‘The Mystery of the ‘Black Box’ and the ‘true’ heirs of Charles II’ at
thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/the-mystery-of-the-black-box-and-the-true-heirs-of-charles-ii
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
THUMBNAIL: Lucy Walter: Abbotsford, The Home of Sir Walter Scott accessed on ArtUK. Charles II: The Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
