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Naughty "Georgie
Porgie" of the Stuart era!
The origins of the lyrics to
"Georgie Porgie" are English
and refer to the courtier
George Villiers, 1st duke of
Duke of Buckingham
(1592–1628). King James I
took Villiers as his lover
and nicknamed him "Steenie"
(a reference to St. Stephen
whom in the Bible describes
as having the "face of an
angel"). Villier's good
looks also appealed to the
ladies and his highly
suspect morals were much in
question!
Affair with the married
lady - the Queen of France!
Villiers most notorious
affair was with his liaison
with Anne of Austria,
(1601-1666) who was the
Queen of France and married
to the French King Louis
XIII badly injured both of
their reputations. This,
however, was overlooked due
to his great friendship with
the English King, James I
(1586-1625). He was disliked
by both courtiers and
commoners, not least for
helping to arrange the
marriage of King James' son
to the French Catholic
princess Henrietta Maria
(1609-1669) - he later
became King Charles I
(1600-1649). George Villiers
(Georgie Porgie) exercised
great influence over the
King who allowed him many
liberties. Villiers private
liaisons and political
scheming were questioned and
Parliament who finally lost
patience and stopped the
King intervening on behalf
of "Georgie Porgie". The
romantic elements of of
George Villiers and Anne of
Austria are featured in the
novel 'The Three Musketeers'
by Alexander Dumas. |
