They were issued by Charles II as a nod to his mother’s love of hawking - titles which are still held by the Duke of St Albans today.Įven at a young age, Beauclerk was said to identify himself as being the king’s son, rather than the son of an actress unlike his younger brother, James, he was no mother’s boy. Just before his father’s death, he was granted the offices of Master of the King’s Hawks and Grand Falconer of England which also bought him an additional income of £1,500 per year. Like his half-brothers, Beauclerk enjoyed a generous allowance that was issued by Charles II, starting with £1,500 per year and increasing with each title and honour that was bestowed upon him. Charles’ coat of arms included a white antelope as the dexter (right) supporter to signify his descent from Henry IV of France, and a white greyhound as a symbol of his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Henry VII, as the sinister (left) supporter. There is a legend, which may well be true given Nell’s feisty humour, that when she and her children were visiting court, the king asked to see little Charles “Come here you little bastard,” Nell called to their eldest, “and see your father.” When Charles rebuked her for her language toward their son, she replied “Your majesty has given me no other name by which to call him!” Though we can’t be sure if that’s true, by 27 December 1676 a patent was draw up to create Charles Earl of Burford and Baron Heddington.Ī month later, Charles and his younger brother James were finally awarded their surname - Beauclerk - and granted their coats of arms. Towards the end of 1676, while she was in good standing with the king, Nell urged him to elevate her children to an equal peerage alongside their other brothers. For more than six years, her eldest son had gone without title and surname, and was passed over for a peerage by even his younger half-brother by Louise de Kérouaille in 1675. While Nell never pushed for titles for herself, she wanted to secure them for her sons.

For some reason he was not given a surname at the date of his christening – not even the generic FitzRoy that many royal illegitimate children were provided – and for the first six and a half years of his life, he was simply known as Master Charles. Charles was Nell Gwyn and Charles II’s first child, born on.

Nell Gwyn by Charles Beauclerk