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| Keywords: indoor Margaret Hughes (May 29, 1630 – February 6, 1685) is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage.[1] The occasion of her first performance was on December 8, 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, when she played the role of Desdemona in a production by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at their Vere Street theatre. Hughes's status as the first professional actress in England is not beyond dispute; claims have been made for Anne Marshall, another early actress in Killigrew's King's Company. Margaret Hughes possesses the most substantial amount of evidence in her favor. Her name also appears in a cast list for Othello nine years later in 1669. It was rumoured that she was a lover of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet (who has been characterized as a "famous fop") in the 1660s; she was reportedly also involved with Charles II himself, if only briefly. She later lived with Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland (sometimes known as "Rupert of the Rhine") as his morganatic wife; they had a daughter named Ruperta. Prince Rupert's older brother, Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine, once sounded out Rupert as to his willingness to return to the Rhineland and marry appropriately. Rupert chose to stay with Margaret and Ruperta. Margaret (known as 'Peg') continued to act even after Ruperta's birth, with the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre (near the Strand in London). After Rupert's death, Margaret sold a necklace he had given to her to Nell Gwyn, for 4000 guineas. She reportedly had a significant gambling habit — which was a common trait in her era. Margaret Hughes (May 29, 1630 – February 6, 1685) is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage.[1] The occasion of her first performance was on December 8, 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, when she played the role of Desdemona in a production by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at their Vere Street theatre. Hughes's status as the first professional actress in England is not beyond dispute; claims have been made for Anne Marshall, another early actress in Killigrew's King's Company. Margaret Hughes possesses the most substantial amount of evidence in her favor. Her name also appears in a cast list for Othello nine years later in 1669. It was rumoured that she was a lover of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet (who has been characterized as a "famous fop") in the 1660s; she was reportedly also involved with Charles II himself, if only briefly. She later lived with Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland (sometimes known as "Rupert of the Rhine") as his morganatic wife; they had a daughter named Ruperta. Prince Rupert's older brother, Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine, once sounded out Rupert as to his willingness to return to the Rhineland and marry appropriately. Rupert chose to stay with Margaret and Ruperta. Margaret (known as 'Peg') continued to act even after Ruperta's birth, with the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre (near the Strand in London). After Rupert's death, Margaret sold a necklace he had given to her to Nell Gwyn, for 4000 guineas. She reportedly had a significant gambling habit — which was a common trait in her era. | ||||
