Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey ("née" Twysden; 25 February 1753 – 23 July 1821) was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm". Through marriage she belonged to the Villiers family. She was born Frances Twysden, in London, second and posthumous daughter of The Rt Rev. Dr Philip Twysden (c.1714–52), Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Raphoe (1746–1752; died 2 November 1752, allegedly shot while attempting to rob a stagecoach near London),
George IV of the United Kingdom was bought off with a generous pension when she threatened to sell his letters to the newspapers; Grace Elliott, the divorced wife of a physician; and Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, who dominated his life for some years. In later life, his mistresses were the Marchioness of Hertford and the Marchioness Conyngham, who were both married to aristocrats. George was rumoured to have fathered several illegitimate children. James Ord (born 1786)—who moved to the United States and became a Jesuit priest—was reportedly his son by Fitzherbert. The King, late in life, told a friend that he had a son who