The Windsor Beauties - 10 Women of the Restoration Court
From History Tea Time by Lindsay Holiday
April 21, 2026 · 32 min
About this episode
This episode explores the Windsor Beauties, a collection of portraits of ten women from the Restoration Court, revealing their stories and the societal implications of their beauty.
I'm at Hampton Court Palace in the Communication Gallery to look at a very special collection of paintings, the Windsor Beauties. These portraits immortalize 10 woman said to be the most stunning members of the restoration court. They exude elegance, confidence, and more than a hint of seduction. It was long whispered that famous philanderer, King Charles II used the paintings like a catalog, to choose which lovely lady would be his bedfellow for the evening. His lascivious majesty would then place his order with the Keeper of his Privy Closet, known as his ‘Pimp-master General’ who would then call for the patiently waiting lucky lady. The Windsor beauties gained such a notorious reputation that by 1835, the now prudish royal court despised them. The collection was consigned to Hampton court Palace, which was no longer a royal residence. But were the Windsor beauties really just restoration Pinups, or is there more to the story? Let’s meet the real women rendered in colorful goop, and find out why they were chosen. We’ll discover who was and was not a royal mistress, and which beauties were sleeping with each others husbands. We’ll learn how they traded beauty for power and…
People in this episode
Host: Lindsay Holiday
Topics covered
- Restoration Court
- Windsor Beauties
- Royal Mistresses
- Historical Portraits
- Beauty and Power
- King Charles II
Keywords
- Windsor Beauties
- Restoration Court
- King Charles II
- historical portraits
- beauty and power
- royal mistresses
- Hampton Court Palace
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Windsor Beauties
Places: Hampton Court Palace
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