Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland

For the Cornish diarist, see Caroline Fox.

Caroline Fox
Lady Fox as painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1757-58.
Born	Lady Georgiana Carolina Lennox (1723-03-27)27 March 1723 Richmond House, Whitehall, London
Died	24 July 1774(1774-07-24) (aged 51) Holland House, Kensington, London
Title	Baroness Holland, of Holland Lady Holland, of Foxley
Spouse	Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland of Foxley
Children	Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland The Hon. Charles James Fox General The Hon. Henry Edward Fox
Parent(s)	Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Sarah Cadogan

Georgiana Carolina Fox, 1st Baroness Holland, of Holland (27 March 1723 – 24 July 1774), known as Lady Caroline Lennox before 1744 and as Lady Caroline Fox from 1744 to 1762, was the eldest of the Lennox Sisters.

The Lennox sisters were daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, who was the grandson of Charles II of England through the King's relationship with Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. In 1744, Lady Caroline eloped with Henry Fox, a politician who was eighteen years her senior. Though her parents disapproved of the marriage, it proved a very happy one. The couple had four sons, including the great Whig politician, Charles James Fox and the general Henry Edward Fox. Their home, Holland House, Kensington, was a social and political gathering place.

Lady Caroline's favorite sister, Emily Lennox, married and went to live in Ireland in 1747. In 1750 and 1751, the Lennox sisters' parents died in quick succession, leaving three younger daughters, Louisa, Sarah, and Cecilia, aged eight, six, and one. In his will, the 2nd Duke of Richmond, remembering Lady Caroline's reckless elopement, passed over her and instructed that his three youngest daughters be entrusted to the care of their sister Emily and her husband, James FitzGerald, 20th Earl of Kildare. Lady Caroline resented this slight but hoped to redeem herself by presenting her younger sisters at court and helping them make good matches. The Kildares' allegations that the Foxes were responsible for Lady Sarah Lennox's embarrassing rejection by the young King George III, as well as her disastrous marriage to Sir Charles Bunbury soon afterwards, provoked a quarrel between the sisters that was not healed until shortly before Lady Caroline's death.

On 3 May 1762, Caroline was created Baroness Holland of Holland in the Peerage of Great Britain. Her husband was created Baron Holland of Foxley less than a year later, on 17 April 1763. Caroline's spoiled sons, especially Stephen, the eldest, caused her much embarrassment and distress by gambling and falling into debt. She was already suffering from a mysterious and painful illness when her husband, who had suffered a stroke, died. She followed within a short time.

Ancestry

Family of Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland

16. Charles I of England 8. Charles II of England 17. Henrietta Maria of France 4. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond 18. Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kérouaille 9. Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth 19. Marie de Ploeuc de Timeur 2. Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond 20. Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan 10. Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell 21. Anne Savage 5. Anne Brudenell 22. Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex 11. Frances Savile 23. Anne Villiers 1. Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland 24. William Cadogan 12. Henry Cadogan 25. Elizabeth Roberts 6. William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan 26. Hardress Waller 13. Bridget Waller 27. Mary Elizabeth Dowdall 3. Sarah Cadogan 28. Joan Munter 14. Jan Munter 29. Margaretha Geelvinck 7. Margaret Cecilia Munter 30. Hendrick Trip 15. Margaretha Trip 31. Cecilia Godin

References

Tillyard, Stella. Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832. London: Chatto & Windus, 1994.

Trivia

In 1999, a 6-part miniseries based on the lives of Caroline Lennox and her sisters aired in the U.K. It was called Aristocrats. [1]