Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough

Infobox Person
name = Henrietta Frances Spencer


caption = Portrait by George Romney
birth_date = birth date|1761|6|16
birth_place = Wimbledon, London
death_date = death date and age|1821|11|11|1761|6|16
death_place = Florence
spouse = Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough
children = 1 John, 4th Earl of Bessborough
2 Sir Frederick Cavendish
3 Lady Caroline Lamb
4 William, 1st Baron de Mauley
5 George Stewart
6 Harriet Godolphin Osborne, Duchess of Leeds
parents = John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer
Margaret Georgiana Poyntz

Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough (16 June, 1761 – 11 November, 1821), born the Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, was the wife of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough and mother of the notorious Lady Caroline Lamb. Her father, John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her sister was Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. She had an affair with Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, prior to his marriage to her niece, which produced two illegitimate children: George Stewart and Harriet Emma Arundel Stewart, later Duchess of Leeds as wife of George Godolphin Osborne, 8th Duke of Leeds.

Harriet, as she was generally known, was a clever woman (though not as gifted as her charming elder sister, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire). She, Georgiana, and Lady Elizabeth "Bess" Foster were very close friends, and were often seen together in public. It is believed that Harriet's husband, Lord Duncannon, later Earl of Bessborough, was abusive to her, at least in the earlier years of their marriage. [Foreman, Amanda. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. 1998: The Modern Library.]

Notes and references

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1= 1. Henrietta Frances Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough
2= 2. John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer
3= 3. Margaret Georgiana Poyntz
4= 4. John Spencer
5= 5. Georgina Carolina Carteret
6= 6. Stephen Poyntz
7= 7. Anna Maria Mordaunt
8= 8. Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
9= 9. Anne Churchill
10= 10. John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville
11= 11. Frances Worsley
12= 12. William Poyntz
13= 13. Jane Monteage
14= 14. Lewis Mordaunt
15= 15. Mary Collyer
16= 16. Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland
17= 17. Anne Digby
18= 18. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
19= 19. Sarah Jennings
20= 20. George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret
21= 21. Grace Granville, 1st Countess Granville
22= 22. Robert Worsley, 4th Baronet
23= 23. Frances Thynne
24= 24. Newdigate Poyntz
25= 25. Mary Parkyns
26= 26. Stephen Monteage
27= 27. Jane Deane
28= 28. John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt
29= 29. Elizabeth Carey