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),
Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham money to send him to the French court, where he learned the courtly skills, including fencing and dancing, and gained some fluency in the French language. His mother then sent him to the English Court, where he rapidly became the new favourite of King James I. As George rose, his mother, brothers and half-brothers rose with him: the King in 1618 said that he lived to no other end but to advance the Villiers family. Mary arranged George's marriage to the great heiress Katherine, Baroness de Ros, who was said to be the richest woman in England; her enemies said