{"id":34327,"date":"2024-03-05T12:19:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T11:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=262660"},"modified":"2024-03-05T14:12:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T13:12:54","slug":"who-was-the-real-mary-villiers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/who-was-the-real-mary-villiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Who was the real Mary Villiers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Stuart court of James VI and I, one enigmatic woman came to wield unprecedented power, thanks to her son George\u2019s strategic relationship with the king. Now her story is being told in a new Sky Original Drama, Mary & George, with Julianne Moore in the role. But how much is known about the real Mary? We spoke to writer and broadcaster Benjamin Woolley to find out more\u2026 <\/p>

By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 March 2024 at 11:19 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Was Mary Villiers a real person?<\/h2>\n

Yes, Mary Villiers was a real figure in history, who rose from humble beginnings to gain significant influence within the English Stuart court.<\/p>\n

As shown in historical drama Mary & George<\/em>, Mary (played by Julianne Moore) manoeuvred her way to prominence through her second son, George Villiers<\/a>, who in 1614\/15, became a favourite courtier of King James VI and I<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other than scraps of information, though, much of her life is shrouded in mystery.<\/p>\n

What do we know about Mary Villiers\u2019 life?<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know a great deal about her,\u201d explains writer and broadcaster Benjamin Woolley on the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t even know when she was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conventionally, it\u2019s thought to be around 1570 \u2013 \u201cthough it\u2019s possibly 1574, which actually makes a difference because she was much younger when she married George Villiers,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\"Mary\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Prior to her first marriage, Mary Villiers had served as a waiting woman to one of her relatives in Leicestershire. (Image by Alamy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The son of an MP, an English knight and country gentleman, the senior George Villiers married Mary after the death of his first wife. Over a decade, they had four children: Susan, John, George and Christopher.<\/p>\n

Prior to her marriage, Mary had served as a waiting woman to one of her relatives in Leicestershire. \u201cThe role of waiting women at this time is a really odd one to modern ears,\u201d explains Woolley. \u201cThey\u2019re sort of between service and gentry, so she occupied this rather ambiguous social rank.<\/p>\n

\u201cMary Villiers was miles from court \u2013 geographically, but also in terms of social status. The idea that she would find herself inside the king\u2019s inner circle would have been inconceivable when she started out.\u201d<\/p>\n

That would have been especially true when the senior George Villiers died, and Mary was faced with his substantial debts. She resorted to strategic remarriages, first to Sir William Rayner and later to Sir Thomas Compton, 1st Baron Compton.<\/p>\n

\"Julianne\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Mary Villiers is played by Julianne Moore in drama \u2018Mary & George\u2019. (Image by Getty Imgaes)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u201cHer first son, John, turned out to be, bluntly, a bit of a dud,\u201d says Woolley. \u201cHe didn\u2019t look like the kind of figure who could realise any ambitions that this family might have for the Villiers name.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge, on the other hand, was charismatic, good-looking, clever, witty, complicated. He was not particularly intellectual, but he certainly knew how to work a room.\u201d<\/p>\n

George turned out to be an eminently presentable character, and Mary sent him to France as a teenager to learn the kind of manners that would enhance his status.<\/p>\n

How did Mary and George Villiers rise to power?<\/h2>\n

The Villiers\u2019 ascent would begin in earnest after 1603, when James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England from Elizabeth I<\/a> and became James I. He began his rule in England surrounded by Scottish nobles, particularly young men. The most prominent of these was Robert Carr, who became a favourite of the king in 1607.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of discussion about James\u2019s relationship with these young Scottish men,\u201d explains Woolley. \u201cFrom an English point of view, the real problem was that there were no young English men in James\u2019s close retinue. George was weaponised by Mary in order to fill that gap, and that he did with spectacular success.\u201d<\/p>\n

George secured his place in the king\u2019s inner circle, and Mary\u2019s rise in court was swift. She also set about securing advantageous marriages for her other children. In 1618, the same year that she became Countess of Buckingham, the king reportedly said that he \u201clived to no other end but to advance the Villiers family\u201d.<\/p>\n

Of course, chief among them was George, who went from knight to viscount and earl, and eventually, in 1623, was made the 1st Duke of Buckingham.<\/p>\n