Catherine Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans
Catherine Beauclerk | |
---|---|
Duchess of St Albans | |
Born | Lady Catherine Ponsonby 14 October 1742 |
Died | 4 September 1789 | (aged 46)
Spouse(s) | Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans |
Father | William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough |
Mother | Lady Caroline Cavendish |
Catherine Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans (née Lady Catherine Ponsonby); ( 14 October 1742 – 4 September 1789) was a British noblewoman. She was Duchess of St Albans through her marriage.
Family
She was the daughter of William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough and Lady Caroline Cavendish, the eldest of his three children. Her father was a politician in Ireland for most of his life.[1]
She married Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans in 4 May 1763 in London. They had 7 children:[2]
- Lady Catherine Elizabeth Beauclerk died c. July 1803
- Lady Caroline Beauclerk died 23 November 1838
- Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans, born 21 August 1765, died 12 August 1815
- William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans, born 18 December 1766, died 17 July 1825
- Admiral Lord Amelius Beauclerk, born 23 May 1771, died 10 December 1846
- Reverend Lord Frederick Beauclerk, born 8 May 1773, died 22 April 1850
- Lady Georgiana Beauclerk, born 1776, died 17 October 1791
On 21 October 1781 Catherine received the title of Mrs. Vere de Hanworth, and from the rise of her husband, became Duchess of St Albans on 10 February 1787. The couple lived in Rome for about three years. Their journey there may have been to avoid rumours in the press of a relationship between Catherine Beauclerk and Thomas Brand though on 4 June 1778, Lady Mary Lowther noted that 'Mr Beauclerk, Lady Catherine and Mr Brand were gone together abroad, being so in debt they found it troublesome staying at home'. The artist Franciszek Smuglewicz painted them in Rome twice.[3]
Aubrey Beauclerk died on 9 February 1802 at age 61.[2]
References
- ^ G.E. Cokayne, ed. (1910–1959). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Alan Sutton Publishing.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ a b "Family line". Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Portrait of The Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk and his Family, in an elegant interior, a view to the Castel Gandolfo beyond". Bonhoms.