Margaret Hughes became an actress during a period of great change in English drama which had suffered greatly during the English Civil War and the Interregnum, being banned by the Puritan Long Parliament in 1642.
11 Facts About Margaret Hughes
2.
Margaret Hughes was famous for her charms as an actress; diarist Samuel Pepys considered her "a mighty pretty woman", and she was said to be "a great beauty, with dark ringletted hair, a fine figure, and particularly good legs".
3.
Rupert fell in love with her in the late 1660s, although Margaret Hughes appears to have held out reciprocating his attentions with the aim of negotiating a suitable settlement.
4.
Prince Rupert was one of the most senior members of the royal family at court, and Margaret Hughes rapidly received advancement through his patronage; she became a member of the King's Company by 1669, giving her status and immunity from arrest for debt, and was painted four times by Sir Peter Lely, the foremost court artist of the day.
5.
Margaret Hughes continued to act even after Ruperta's birth, returning to the stage in 1676 with the prestigious Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre, near the Strand in London.
6.
Margaret Hughes had an "uncomfortable widowhood" without Rupert's support, allegedly not helped by her continued gambling.
7.
Presents from Rupert such as Elizabeth of Bohemia's earrings were sold to the Duchess of Marlborough, whilst a pearl necklace given by Rupert's father to Margaret Hughes was sold to fellow actress Nell Gwyn.
8.
Margaret Hughes sold the house in Hammersmith to two London merchants, Timothy Lannoy and George Treadwell; ultimately it was purchased by the Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach and became known as Brandenburg House.
9.
Margaret Hughes left the stage for Prince Rupert in 1669 or 1670.
10.
Margaret Hughes is the main character of Diana Norman's historical novel The Vizard Mask.
11.
Margaret Hughes is depicted as a stuttering American Puritan, Penitence Hurd, who becomes a successful Restoration actress.