Hello, I'm Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces.

You're listening to our podcast that explores the history and stories of our six palaces.

These talks are a collection of some of our best live events.

I really hope you enjoy listening.

The Stuart period is marked by decadence and debauchery.

Experience the Stuart court in all its nuanced splendour in this series compiled from our archive.

In this talk, Historic Royal Palace's curator Brett Dolman introduces us to Charles the Second's court and its most

famous courtiers and mistresses. Right, I'll start with a quotation. This is from an unknown author

writing in 1679, and it's called a satire on beauty. Beauty's corrupt and like a flower stands to be collected by

impure hands. Tis hard as tis impossible to find, virtue and Venus both together joined. For the fair she,

who knows the force and strength of beauty's charms, grows proud.

And then at length, lust and ambition will possess her breast, which always will disturb man's peaceful rest.

Now, I've started with that, because it highlights the profound and arguably timeless ambivalence of beauty.

That beauty could be both a wonderful spiritual quality,

something that should be celebrated and like a beautiful flower brings us pleasure,

and perhaps a hint of the divine presence in the world.

But it can also be a weapon, something that could corrupt

and could become, in fact, an instrument of

sin. In this particular verse, this ambiguity is described within the misogynistic reality of 17th century

court life. Men worshipped beauty because they liked beautiful women, but they feared beauty because women were able to use it

to challenge man's domination of the court.

The Wilder Beautiful and the Damned, the exhibition,

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