Beau Feilding

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Robert Feilding (d. 1712), called "Handsome Feilding" by Charles IJ. He died in Scotland Yard, London, after having been convicted of bigamously marrying the Duchess of Cleveland, a former mistress of Charles II. He figures as Orlando in Steele's Taller (Nos. 50 and 51).

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Beau Feilding” mean?

Robert Feilding (d. 1712), called "Handsome Feilding" by Charles IJ. He died in Scotland Yard, London, after having been convicted of bigamously marrying the Duchess of Cleveland, a former mistress of Charles II. He figures as Orlando in Steele's Taller (Nos. 50 and 51).

Is “Beau Feilding” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.