Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham

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Portrait of Sir Thomas Lawrence : Elizabeth Conyngham, Countess Conyngham (1801)

Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham (born Elizabeth Denison ; born July 16, 1769 in London , † October 11, 1861 in Bifrons , Kent ) was the mistress of the Prince Regent and later King George IV of Great Britain .

Life

Elizabeth was the only daughter of London banker Joseph Denison and his wife Elizabeth Butler. On July 5, 1794, she married in London the Irish General Henry Conyngham, 1st Viscount Conyngham (1766-1832), from 1797 1st Earl Conyngham and from 1816 1st Marquess Conyngham . The marriage had five children:

  • Lady Maria Harriet Conyngham (1794–1843) ⚭ 1832 William Meredyth Somerville, 1st Baron Meredyth (1802–1873)
  • Henry Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles (1795–1824), unmarried
  • Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham (1797–1876), General ⚭ 1824 Lady Jane Paget (1798–1876)
  • Albert Denison Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough (1805–1860), ⚭ (1) 1833 Lady Henrietta Maria Weld-Forester († 1843), ⚭ (2) 1847 Lady Ursula Lucy Grace Bridgeman († 1883)
  • Lady Elizabeth Henrietta Conyngham (1811–1839) ⚭ 1826 Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly (1792–1863)
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, about 1820

Elizabeth was considered unsuitable for dealing with aristocratic society because of her bourgeois origins and vulgar behavior. However, she cast a spell over men with her beauty, including the future Tsar Nicholas I (1796–1855) when he was visiting London in 1816. In 1817 she became the lover of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) and was introduced to the English court. In 1819 the Prince Regent George and later King George IV (1762-1830) made Elizabeth his mistress, a position that she - with the approval of her husband - would hold for eleven years. She ousted his then favorite Isabella Seymour-Conway (1759-1834) and her family also benefited from the liaison by receiving lands and titles. The only separation was during the period when the king tried to divorce his wife and cousin Princess Caroline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1768-1821). After King George IV died on June 26, 1830, Elizabeth had to move out of Windsor Castle and was expelled from the country by his successor, King William IV . Elizabeth lived in Paris until his death in 1837 . Elizabeth Conyngham, Countess of Conyngham died on October 11, 1861 in Bifrons, near Canterbury, at the age of 92. She left her family with a fortune of £ 200,000 and jewels, gifts from King George IV.

Name in different phases of life

  • 1769–1794: Miss Elizabeth Denison
  • 1794–1797: The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Conyngham, Viscountess Conyngham
  • 1797-1816: The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Conyngham, Countess Conyngham
  • 1816–1832: The Most Hon. Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
  • 1832–1861: The Most Hon. Elizabeth Conyngham, Dowager Marchioness Conyngham

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Conyngham, Elizabeth, Marchioness Conyngham
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Denison, Elizabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of King George IV of Great Britain
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1769
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH October 11, 1861
Place of death Bifrons , Canterbury