Sir Charles Sedley
Sir Charles Sedley was born in 1639 in Kent, as a member of a family who had been prominent in the area for at least a few hundred years. His father was a baronet, a hereditary title that ranked below all other titles except Knights. Sedley inherited this title upon his brother's death in 1656. He married Lady Katherine Savage and had one daughter with her, but Lady Katherine went insane and was sent to an asylum, so Sedley (who was unable to obtain a divorce) found a common-law wife in Ann Ayscough in about 1670. With his first wife, he had a daughter, Catherine, who was the mistress of King James II and made a Countess for her troubles. With Ayscough, Sedley had two sons, William and Charles.
In his day, Sedley was famous as a wit and a libertine. He was a member of King Charles II's "merry gang of courtiers", all of whom were well-known for their partying, sex, and patronage of the arts. Sedley was particularly poorly behaved; Pepys describes an occasion in 1663 on which Sedley got up on the balcony of a tavern and "showed his nakedness - acting all the postures of lust and buggery that could he imagined, and abusing of scripture ... preaching a Mountebank sermon from that pulpit ... that being done, he took a glass of wine and washed his prick in it and then drank it off; and then took another and drank the King's health." He provoked a riot and was fined. Sedley was also part of a gang of revelers who called themselves Ballers.
Despite his infamous behaviour, Sedley was well-regarded as a poet, a wit, and a dramatist. He was also a member of Parliament, who eventually became Speaker of the Commons in 1690. He kept his seat in Parliament until he died in 1701.
Sources: The Diary of Samuel Pepys: 1663 by Samuel Pepys, A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages by Matt Cook, Sir Charles Sedley in Encyclopedia Britannica
In his day, Sedley was famous as a wit and a libertine. He was a member of King Charles II's "merry gang of courtiers", all of whom were well-known for their partying, sex, and patronage of the arts. Sedley was particularly poorly behaved; Pepys describes an occasion in 1663 on which Sedley got up on the balcony of a tavern and "showed his nakedness - acting all the postures of lust and buggery that could he imagined, and abusing of scripture ... preaching a Mountebank sermon from that pulpit ... that being done, he took a glass of wine and washed his prick in it and then drank it off; and then took another and drank the King's health." He provoked a riot and was fined. Sedley was also part of a gang of revelers who called themselves Ballers.
Despite his infamous behaviour, Sedley was well-regarded as a poet, a wit, and a dramatist. He was also a member of Parliament, who eventually became Speaker of the Commons in 1690. He kept his seat in Parliament until he died in 1701.
Sources: The Diary of Samuel Pepys: 1663 by Samuel Pepys, A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages by Matt Cook, Sir Charles Sedley in Encyclopedia Britannica