Leveson Gower, Harriet

Family and early life

Henrietta Elizabeth Cavendish was born at on August 29, 1785, becoming the youngest daughter of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and Georgiana Spencer ^[1] . In the family circle was known as “Harriet” or “Garrio”. The newborn was named after the mother’s sister, Lady and Lady Elizabeth Foster , who was Harriet’s best friend, but later became the lover of the Duke of Cavendish, and after his death, his second wife. The marriage of parents from the very beginning was unhappy. Georgiana barely endured pregnancy, several times had miscarriages. The family had only three children. Lady Georgiana, rejected by her husband, increasingly appeared in society and was a trendsetter ^{[1] [2]} .

Despite family problems, Harriet’s childhood was a happy one. The mother loved her children very much, but the children rarely met her father ^{[1] [3]} . The duke's governess of children, Selina Trimmer, daughter of the famous children's writer Sarah Trimmer , accustomed children to good behavior and morality ^{[1] [4] [5]} . In May 1799, Harriet and her cousin Lady Carolina Lam passed the confirmation ceremony at Westminster Abbey ^[6] . The historian Janet Gleeson describes Harriet as slightly chubby in appearance, intelligent and penetrating personality ^[7] . Her biographer Virginia Sertis writes that “although Cavendish did not have beauty, she was witty, smart, her sharp eye could not miss even trifles, she revolved in a world of constant gossip, alcohol, dandy and loud grunts” ^[1] .

In 1802, Harriet's cousin, began to show a romantic interest in his cousin. John even made her an offer, but she refused ^[7] , saying that “she will wait a year before realizing whether a friend will like them or not to marry” ^[8] . Both families endorsed the possible marriage of their children. During this period, John had a romantic relationship with Lady Maria Fen. Cavendish set him the condition that he should not flirt with other ladies, since she can not stand it ^[8] . John was very angry at such a statement and refused to marry her ^[8] . Soon after, he became engaged to Lady Maria Fen. After an unsuccessful attempt at marriage, the Cavendish family tried to arrange a marriage to Harriet with another cousin, John Spencer, Viscount Elthorpe , however, while visiting the Elthorpe estate where John lived, she stated that she did not want to marry him. ^[9]

Harriet's mother, the Duchess of Devonshire, died in March 1806. Her father had a long extramarital relationship with Lady Elizabeth Foster. After the death of the Duchess, Lady Foster took over the reign in the house of Cavendish, which Harriet did not like very much ^{[1] [10]} . During this period, she often and for a long time visited her older sister, who was married to the 6th Earl Carlisle . Three years after the death of his first wife, William Cavendish married Lady Foster, who bore him two years before that. In 1811, the Duke of Devonshire died ^[3] .

Marriage

Lady , after the death of her sister, the Duchess of Devonshire, began to actively help her nephews in their family problems. Harriet did not like her aunt, but after the death of her mother she became very close with her ^[11] . After it became clear that the Duke of Devonshire intended to marry Lady Foster, Lady Ponsobi began to look for a suitable party for her niece, proposing to her the wife of Lord Grenville Leveson-Gower . The lord himself was Henrietta’s lover for seventeen years, she gave birth to two illegitimate children from him and once declared that she “loved him adoringly” ^{[1] [12]} . Grenville at that time was 37 years old. Henrietta was still in love with him, but she understood that he needed to get married in order to provide himself with legal heirs. Henrietta’s desire to marry his niece was one of the ways to keep him by his side ^[13] .

William Cavendish was acquainted with Lord Grenville, but never had a disposition towards him, considering him too arrogant ^[14] . Grenville was described as an intelligent, handsome man from a good family. He was a member of the British Parliament ^{[1] [12]} . The historian Reynolds wrote that Grenville "was considered one of the most beautiful people of his time, his curly brown hair, blue eyes and beautiful features brought him many fans" ^[12] . At first, he himself did not want to marry Harriet, trying to find another candidate, but he was always refused because of his licentiousness and a large number of mistresses. He ultimately chose Lady Harriet Cavendish. ^[15]

On December 24, 1809, Harriet married him with the blessing of her aunt ^{[12] [16]} . Although Grenville was no longer young, he was still considered very attractive. It was said about his wife that she had a “highly charming voice” ^[17] . The marriage was happy ^[1] . Harriet loved her husband until his death in 1846. Their oldest child, daughter Susan, was born in October 1810 in London ^{[18] [19]} . Subsequently, four more children were born ^[12] . Harriet, also, was engaged in the education of two illegitimate children of her husband, who lived with them ^{[1] [17]} . In 1815, the couple became Viscount and Viscountess of Grenville ^[20] , in 1833 they received the count title. Harriet was then known as the Countess of Grenville. ^[1]

The couple lived in England for the first fifteen years of marriage, sometimes traveling to Europe. They had their own house in London, as well as a rental estate in the village of Staffordshire , later they lived in the village of ^[21] . From 1824 to 1841, Grenville served as the British Ambassador to France ^{[12] [22]} . The couple spent a large amount of time among the Parisian aristocracy, and the countess wrote detailed reports on her life abroad, which were published in 1894, 1940 and 1990 ^[1] . In 1841, Grenville resigned due to poor health. Before returning to the UK, the couple traveled to Europe for two years. In November 1843, they returned to their homeland, where they lived in Brighton , often visited the estates of relatives ^{[12] [22]} .

Widowhood

Count Grenville died at the beginning of 1846. Five years before his death, he suffered a stroke, from which he did not recover until his death ^{[12] [22]} . He was buried in Stone, Staffordshire. ^[12] After the death of her husband, Harriet retreated from public life ^[23] . She lived privately in the House of Cheesy ^[1] . Basically, she talked with all her children, including her illegitimate children, her brother William and the children of her sister Georgiana ^[22] . She survived her husband for fifteen years. Died November 25, 1862 from a stroke in London on Hereford Street ^[22] .

Children

Five children were born from a marriage with Grenville Leveson-Gower, the Viscount and 1st Earl of Grenville ^{[24] [25]} :

• Susan Georgiana Leveson-Gower (1810-1866) - wife of , had four sons and eight daughters ^[26] ;
• (1812-1885) - the wife of Alexander Fullerton , had no children;
• Grenville Leveson-Gower (1815–1891) - first married to Maria Louise Dahlberg , had no children, then to Castile Rosalind Campbell , had five children;
• Grenville Wilhelm Leveson-Gower (1816-1833) - was not married, had no children;
• (1819-1907) - married to Lady Margaret Compton , had one son.

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• Virginia Surtees. Gower, Henrietta Elizabeth [Harriet] Leveson-, Countess Granville (1785–1862). - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford University Press, 2004. - DOI : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 38507 . (subscription required)

• Henrietta Leveson Gower (inaccessible link) . - Profile of Harriet Leveson-Gower on the Oxford Dictionary National Biography. Archived on September 24, 2015.
• Granville Leveson Gower (inaccessible link) . - Profile of Grenville Leveson-Gower on the Oxford Dictionary National Biography. Archived on February 5, 2015.
• Harriet Elizabeth Cavendish - Profile on Geneall.net.
• Lady Harriet Elizabeth Cavendish - Profile on Thepeerage.com.