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Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

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"Double Duchess" redirects here. For the album, see Double Dutchess.

Her Grace
The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire
Photographic portrait, 1884
Mistress of the Robes
In office
24 February 1858 – 11 June 1859
Preceded byThe Duchess of Sutherland
Succeeded byThe Duchess of Sutherland
Personal details
Born
Countess Luise Friederike Auguste von Alten

15 June 1832
Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover
Died15 July 1911(1911-07-15) (aged 79)
Esher Park, Surrey, England
Resting placeEdensor, Derbyshire, England
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1852; died 1890)​
​
​
(m. 1892; died 1908)​
Children
Parent(s)Karl Franz Viktor, Count von Alten
Hermine von Schminke

Louisa Frederica Augusta Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, formerly Louisa Montagu, Dowager Duchess of Manchester (born Countess Luise Friederike Auguste von Alten; 15 June[1] 1832 – 15 July 1911), was a German-born British aristocrat sometimes referred to as the "Double Duchess" due to her marriages, firstly to the 7th Duke of Manchester and then to the 8th Duke of Devonshire.[2][3]

Early life

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Luise Friederike Auguste, Countess von Alten, was born 15 June 1832 at Hanover in what was then the Kingdom of Hanover. She was a daughter of Karl Franz Viktor, Count von Alten (1800–1879), and his wife, Hermine von Schminke (1806–1868).[4][5] Her siblings included: Helene Charlotte Auguste, Countess of Alten, who married Andrei Bludov, Carl Friedrich Franz Victor, Count of Alten, who married Carolina Frederica Groeninx van Zoelen, and Guidobaldine, Countess of Alten, who married Graf August Grote and Don Luigi Maria Colonna, Prince of Stigliano, and Detlof von Bülow.[6][7]

Her paternal grandparents were Adolf Viktor Christian Jobst, Count von Alten (1755–1820), and Charlotte Louise Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau.[7]

Mistress of the Robes

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"A social climber with a nose for power", the 26-year-old Duchess (through her friendship with Lord Derby, the then prime minister) was appointed Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria in February 1858, resigning in June 1859, when Lord Derby's government fell.[8] Victoria regretted her departure, calling her "a very pleasant, nice, sensible person".[8] However, allegedly Victoria disapproved of 'her tone, her love of admiration and "fast style."'[9] She pointedly declined to invite the Duchess to the wedding of Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales in 1863.[10] The Duchess soon developed close friendships with both.[11]

Devonshire House Ball of 1897

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In July 1897, the Duchess hosted the Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball at Devonshire House, the London residence of the Dukes of Devonshire during the 18th and 19th centuries. The party was a costume ball thrown to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The Queen's Private Secretary, Francis Knollys, wrote to the Duchess that the Prince of Wales (who dressed as the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta) thought the party a success. The ball was considered the most important event of the London social season, and was spoken of for many years afterwards.[12] At the ball, the Duchess dressed as Queen Zenobia of Palmyra.[2][13]

Marriages and issue

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Illustration of Kimbolton Castle in 1880, which shows the present mansion as rebuilt between 1690 and 1720

On 22 July 1852, the twenty-year-old Louisa was married in Hanover to Viscount Mandeville, eldest son and heir of the 6th Duke of Manchester. Upon his father's death on 8 August 1855, he succeeded his father as 7th Duke of Manchester, and Louisa became Duchess of Manchester.[14][15]

They had five children:[16]

  1. George Victor Drogo Montagu, 8th Duke of Manchester (1853–1892), who married Consuelo Yznaga (1853–1909), and had issue.[16]
  2. Lady Mary Louisa Elizabeth Montagu (1854–1934), who was born at Kimbolton Castle and married, firstly, to William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, at Kimbolton Castle on 10 December 1873, and had issue. She secondly married on 20 July 1897 to Robert Carnaby Forster of Easton Park, Wickham Market, Suffolk (d. 1925), without issue.[16]
  3. Lady Louisa Augusta Beatrice Montagu (1856–1944), born at Kimbolton Castle. She married Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, on 10 August 1876 in London, and had issue.[16]
  4. Lord Charles William Augustus Montagu (1860–1939), who married the Hon. Mildred Cecilia Harriet Sturt (1869–1942), daughter of Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington, at Kimbolton Castle on 4 December 1930. He had no issue.[16]
  5. Lady Alice Maude Olivia Montagu (1862–1957), born in London. She married Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, on 5 January 1889 in London, and had issue.[16]

Louisa became estranged from the Duke, and they lived apart for many years.[dubious – discuss][citation needed] Louisa became the companion of Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, and a notable political hostess.[17] The Duke died in Naples on 22 March 1890.[16]

On 16 August 1892, at Christ Church, Mayfair, the sixty-year-old Dowager Duchess of Manchester married Lord Hartington, by then the 8th Duke of Devonshire. She thereby became Duchess of Devonshire, with a nickname of the "Double Duchess".[18]

With the Duke of Devonshire's death on 24 March 1908, she was widowed for the second time, becoming the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire.[19] On 14 July 1911, she suffered a seizure at the Sandown Races. She was taken to nearby Esher Park,[20] and died there on 15 July, aged 79;[19] she was interred at Edensor, near Chatsworth, in Derbyshire.[18]

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  • Painting of the then Duchess of Manchester, 1859
    Painting of the then Duchess of Manchester, 1859
  • Photograph of the then Duchess of Manchester by Camille Silvy, 1860
    Photograph of the then Duchess of Manchester by Camille Silvy, 1860
  • Photograph of the then Duchess of Manchester, Le Jeune, c. 1867
    Photograph of the then Duchess of Manchester, Le Jeune, c. 1867
  • The Duchess of Devonshire as Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, 1897
    The Duchess of Devonshire as Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, 1897

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Sometimes appears January.
  2. ^ a b "The Cavendish Story: The Double Duchess". www.chatsworthblog.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  3. ^ Vane 2004, p. 197.
  4. ^ "Louisa Frederica Augusta Cavendish (née von Alten), Duchess of Devonshire (formerly Duchess of Manchester) (1832-1911), Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria; former wife of 7th Duke of Manchester, and later first wife of 8th Duke of Devonshire". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Devonshire, Louisa Cavendish Duchess of 1832-1911". worldcat.org. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  6. ^ Cokayne, George Edward (1926). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant. St. Catherine Press, Limited. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigny Ruvigny and Raineval (9th marquis of) (1914). The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who", of the Sovereigns, Princes and Nobles of Europe. Harrison & Sons. p. 244. Retrieved 18 September 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Ridley 2012, p. 113.
  9. ^ Ridley, Jane (2010). "Marlborough House set (Act. 1870s–1901)". Marlborough House setfree (act. 1870s–1901). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53154. Retrieved 17 September 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ Vane 2004, p. 26.
  11. ^ Ridley 2012, p. 114.
  12. ^ Vane 2004, p. 218.
  13. ^ Vane 2004, p. 215.
  14. ^ Poole, Henry (29 September 2015). "The Double Duchess: Louisa van Alten". henrypoole.com. Henry Poole & Co. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  15. ^ Kennedy 1956, p. ??.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Manchester, Duke of (GB, 1719)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  17. ^ Vane 2004, p. 206.
  18. ^ a b "Devonshire, Duke of (E, 1694)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  19. ^ a b Vane 2004, p. 249.
  20. ^ Sometimes referred as Esher Place.
Sources
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.
Court offices
Preceded by Mistress of the Robes
1858–1859 		Succeeded by
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