Charles FitzCharles, Earl of Plymouth

Charles FitzCharles was the first child of Catherine Pegge and Charles II. He was born sometime in 1657 in Flanders, Spanish Netherlands, where the future Charles II was temporarily living in exile.

The future king left Flanders in 1658, but young Charles, his mother and her husband remained in the Spanish Netherlands, where he was raised and educated. Because of his long-term association with, and education by the Spanish, he was given the not particularly well-meaning nickname of ‘Don Carlos’ by the English court. 

A move to England

Though Charles may have seen his son during the first year while he was living in Flanders, it was not until fourteen years later, around 1671, that they were reunited, when his mother brought him to the English court amidst the Third Dutch War. For a brief moment, it seemed that the king was impressed with his son of Spanish exile, and that he may even rival the Duke of Monmouth in his affections.

However, the mood soured a few years after he arrived; after being spoilt by Charles II, it became clear that young FitzCharles was turning in to a lazy and entitled brat, and the shine of having his “Don Carlos” at court soon wore off for the king.

Titles and honours

He was given the honours of a recognised royal son and, in August 1674, Don Carlos was created the Earl of Plymouth, Viscount Totnes and Baron Dartmouth.

On 20 October 1675 he was given his coat of arms and granted a pension of £2,000 a year from the excise (which was later increased to £4,000).

With his sudden and dramatic rise in wealth and station at the English court, Plymouth’s behaviour became increasingly pompous and arrogant. His mother worried that “'much ill company [had] made him loose”: he didn’t bother to pay his servants, racked up enormous debts on all sorts of frivolous pastimes, and spent lavishly on decorating his apartments.

Political ally

Once his petulant teenage years were behind him, he made his foray into politics. He found an ally at court in the Earl of Danby, the lord treasurer (later 1st Duke of Leeds).

Danby quickly put Plymouth to work, in 1677 using him as a go-between for Charles II and William of Orange to maintain friendly relations after the end of the third Dutch war. With this appointment, Plymouth proudly strutted around, declaring himself a true Protestant friend of both countries.

Shortly afterwards, Lord Danby arranged for the marriage of his daughter Lady Bridget Osborne to the Duke of Plymouth; they had a private ceremony on 19 September 1678. The couple did not have any children and, just eighteen months later, Plymouth began his military career.

Tangier

In 1680 the British possession of Tangier was in dire straits and Plymouth, seeing an opportunity to prove his military worth, led the recruiting of gentleman volunteers for the relief expedition. On 13 July 1680 he was made colonel of the 4th foot – a new regiment create specifically for the campaign in Tangier. Before the regiment was even fully established and supplied, Plymouth rushed to Tangier with a small force on 2 July (before his appointment was made official), so that he wouldn’t miss any skirmishes against the Moors.

The small troop and the soldiers already garrisoned there leapt at the chance to attack quickly, and the element of surprise gave them an initial success. For three months Plymouth and his troops won several small victories, and he received glowing praise for his energy, tactics and efforts in the campaign.

On 20 September, after another successful attack in which the Moors were forced outside the city, the troops were commanded to reinforce Pole Fort which was to be the main base for the English. However, the fort barely had a roof and, when they tried to settle there to build a stockade, stuck in trenches, there was an enormous downpour which flooded the whole area. 

An untimely death

The flooding at Pole Fort proved Plymouth’s downfall. He drank contaminated water from the flooding, and quickly fell ill with dysentery. He was taken back to the city, where his condition worsened, and on 17 October 1680, he was reported to have died from the “bloody flux”.

His body was taken to England by his servants in November but, when they arrived, the captain refused to stock the ship until he had been recompensed for his journey – Plymouth’s estates had been left in such disarray that it was not certain that his finances would cover the cost of the ship. Eventually the treasury paid up, and Plymouth’s body was escorted to London.

He was interred into Henry VII's chapel at Westminster Abbey on 18 January 1681.

Catherine FitzCharles

Unfortunately for us, Catherine’s life is a bit of a mystery, and both possibilities of what became of her lead us to dead ends, without any records.

The first possibility is that she died in early infancy in Flanders where she was born, which may be likely given that there are no records about her after her birth.

The second is quite the opposite; some believe that she may have become a Benedictine nun at Dunkirk Abbey in France. If this is true, she may be the nun who took the name Sister Ophelia, and lived to be 101 years old! However, it may be that her identity as a nun became confused with her half-sister, Justinia, who was recorded to be one of the English ladies at the convent of Pontoise, in France.

Whichever theory is correct, or even if what became of her is something entirely different, there are no records about her life whatsoever, and the question of what became of Catherine goes unanswered.