Everything about Moll Davis totally explained
Mary "Moll" Davis (ca.
1648 -
1708) was a
seventeenth-century entertainer and
courtesan,
singer and
actress who became one of the many
mistresses of
King Charles II of England.
Early life, theatre career
Davis was born around
1648 in
Westminster and was said by
Samuel Pepys, the famous
diarist, to be "a bastard of Collonell Howard, my Lord Barkeshire" - probably meaning Thomas Howard, third
Earl of Berkshire.
During the early 1660s she was an actress in the 'Duke's Theatre Company' and boarded with the company's manager, Sir
William Davenant.
She became a popular
singer,
dancer and
comedian, but the wife of Pepys called her "the most impertinent
slut in the world".
Royal mistress
Davis met King Charles II in a
theatre or
coffee-house in about
1667.
She flaunted the wealth she acquired from her association with Charles, and gained a reputation for vulgarity and greed. She showed off her "mighty pretty fine coach" (
Pepys:) and a
ring worth £600, in those days a vast sum.
Davis gave up the stage in 1668 and in 1669 had a daughter by Charles,
Mary Tudor, who became famous in her own right. Later, Charles dismissed Davis, possibly due to some
chicanery by
Nell Gwynne, a major rival for the King's affections. Davis didn't leave empty-handed however: Charles awarded her an annual
pension for life of £1,000.
House in St James's Square
In October 1673, Davis bought a new house in
St James's Square from trustees for Edward Shaw, paying £1800. 'Madam Davis' first appears in the ratebook for the year 1675 and last appears in 1687.
The Paisibles joined James's court in exile at
St Germain-en-Laye, but in 1693 returned to England, where Paisible became composer to Prince George of Denmark, the husband of
Princess Anne, heir to the throne.
Further Information
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