Elizabeth Villiers
Elizabeth Villiers , later Lady Elizabeth Douglas-Hamilton, Countess of Orkney (* around 1657 , † April 19, 1733 in London ) was an English noblewoman and the mistress of King William III.
Life
Elizabeth was the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers and his wife, Lady Frances Howard. Her maternal grandfather was the politician Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk . Her mother was the governess of the princesses and future queens of England, Mary and Anne .
In 1677, Elizabeth Villiers accompanied Princess Maria as her lady-in-waiting to Holland and became the lover of her husband, the Dutch governor Wilhelm III. of Orange (1650–1702), who later rose to become King of England. In 1680 she became his official mistress. Lady Villiers mistrusted John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , and his wife Sarah , with whom she had a bitter rivalry. Due to the intrigues of the Duchess, the longstanding relationship with the king came to an end in 1694.
On November 25, 1695 Lady Elizabeth married her cousin (second degree) George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney (1666-1737), fifth son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton , and Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton . After the marriage, her husband was given the Scottish peer title of Earl of Orkney . The marriage, which was reportedly considered to be happy, had three daughters:
- Lady Anne Douglas-Hamilton († 1756), Countess of Orkney ⚭ 1720 William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin
- Lady Frances Douglas-Hamilton († 1772) ⚭ 1724 Thomas Lumley-Saunderson, 3rd Earl of Scarbrough
- Lady Harriet Douglas-Hamilton († 1732) ⚭ 1728 John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork
literature
- Elizabeth Benger: Memoirs of Elizabeth Hamilton . Verlag Thoemmes Continuum, (2002), ISBN 1-85506-979-2
- Orkney, Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 20 : Ode - Payment of Members . London 1911, p. 279 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
- George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney ( Memento of February 4, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Elizabeth Villiers on thepeerage.com , accessed September 13, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Villiers, Elizabeth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Douglas-Hamilton, Elizabeth Countess of Orkney |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English noblewoman and mistress of King Wilhelm III. from England |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1657 |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 19, 1733 |
| Place of death | London |