Henrietta Howard

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Portrait of Charles Jervas : Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, 1724

Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (* 1688 in Norfolk ; † July 26, 1767 in Marble Hill House near Richmond ) was the long-time mistress of the Prince of Wales and later King George II ; as well as the lady-in-waiting ( Mistress of the Robes ) of Queen Caroline .

Life

Henrietta was the youngest daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet (1658–1698) and his wife Lady Elizabeth Maynard. She had two siblings, Catherine († 1725) and John (1693–1756). Her father died in 1698 during a duel . Henrietta was considered a witty and warm-hearted beauty. On March 2, 1706 she married Charles Howard († 1733), although the third son of Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk , of noble descent, he was considered coarse, a drinker and wasteful with no paternal inheritance.

George August , Prince of Wales , made Lady Howard his permanent mistress in 1719, a position which, with her husband's approval, she was to hold for fifteen years. Crown Princess Caroline , who she did not find unsympathetic either, consoled herself with the fact that she could have been worse off and took the new favorite into her service as a maid. His grandmother, Electress Sophie , approved of the relationship because, pragmatic as ever, she believed that Lady Howard would improve her grandson's English . She was married, but in return for an annual pension of 1,000 ducats, her husband was prepared to postpone his claims. From 1727 Lady Howard fell in favor of the Prince of Wales. That was less due to the long duration of their relationship, more important was the fact that Henrietta, who had managed to be his mistress, the servant and friend of his wife and the confidante of the ladies of honor at the same time , gradually became deaf. As someone who loved to talk a lot, however, he relied on an attentive audience.

In 1734, King George II finally separated from Lady Suffolk, as she was to be called since her husband had inherited his father's title. After losing her position at the royal court, she retired to her country house, Marble Hill House, in Twickenham. She maintained a lively correspondence with, among others, Alexander Pope , Horace Walpole and Jonathan Swift . Lady Suffolk died of heart failure on July 26, 1767.

Web links

literature

  • R. Sedgwick (Editor): Lord Hervey's Memoirs , (1952)
  • Julius Bryant: Mrs Howard a woman of reason , English Heritage Catalog (1988)
  • Tracy Borman: Henrietta Howard - King's Mistress, Queen's Servant , (2007) ISBN 0-2240-7606-X

Remarks

  1. ↑ [1]
personal data
SURNAME Howard, Henrietta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Howard, Henrietta Countess of Suffolk
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of King George II.
DATE OF BIRTH 1688
PLACE OF BIRTH Norfolk
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1767
Place of death at Richmond