George Villiars, Duke of Buckingham
George Villiars was born 10 January 1628 as the son of a minor gentleman. His father, the first Duke of Buckingham, was the favourite and, as the gossip of the day implied, the lover of King James I, grandfather to King Charles II. The first Duke was very close to Charles I as well, though he was very unpopular with the public and was eventually assassinated.
The second Duke was educated alongside Charles II and his brother James II and was initially quite close to them. He fought for the King in the Civil Wars but his negotiations with Cromwell's government and courtship of Charles' widowed sister made him unpopular with the royal family. However, he worked his way back into favor and became one of Charles' richest courtiers, all of whom were famous for womanizing, wit, drinking, dancing, and conspicuous consumption.
The Duke's sexual exploits were detailed in A Gay History of Britain: "Buckingham was said by Lorenzo Magalotti, in his description of the court of Charles II, to enjoy unhealthy brothels of women and 'the most rascally lackeys' for sex. Buckingham had a very large penis, but Magalotti claimed that this had not stopped him from penetrating young males. As a consequence, a male dancer was not able to dance for some time, and a poor French lackey had to be put into a hospital and was later found in the street with his throat cut."
Sources: Charles II and the Duke of Buckingham: The Merry Monarch and the Aristocratic Rogue, by David C. Hanrahan, A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages by Matt Cook
The second Duke was educated alongside Charles II and his brother James II and was initially quite close to them. He fought for the King in the Civil Wars but his negotiations with Cromwell's government and courtship of Charles' widowed sister made him unpopular with the royal family. However, he worked his way back into favor and became one of Charles' richest courtiers, all of whom were famous for womanizing, wit, drinking, dancing, and conspicuous consumption.
The Duke's sexual exploits were detailed in A Gay History of Britain: "Buckingham was said by Lorenzo Magalotti, in his description of the court of Charles II, to enjoy unhealthy brothels of women and 'the most rascally lackeys' for sex. Buckingham had a very large penis, but Magalotti claimed that this had not stopped him from penetrating young males. As a consequence, a male dancer was not able to dance for some time, and a poor French lackey had to be put into a hospital and was later found in the street with his throat cut."
Sources: Charles II and the Duke of Buckingham: The Merry Monarch and the Aristocratic Rogue, by David C. Hanrahan, A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages by Matt Cook