Harriet Cholmondeley
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Harriet Cholmondeley (c.1790 –[1] 11 July 1815), sometimes called "Lady" or "The Hon" Harriet Cholmondeley, was the first wife of John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham.
Harriet Cholmondeley | |
---|---|
Born | c.1790 |
Died | 11 July 1815 |
Noble family | Cholmondeley (illegitimate) |
Spouse(s) | John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham |
Issue | Lady Frances Charlotte The Hon. Georgiana Sarah Elizabeth The Hon. Harriet Caroline |
Father | George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley |
Mother | Madame Saint-Albin |
She was an illegitimate daughter of George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley,[2] by his mistress, Madame Saint-Albin, and was brought up in the Cholmondeley household at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire by the marquess and his wife Georgiana, whom he married in 1791. A portrait of her as a child, by John Hoppner, is held by the Tate Gallery.[3]
Lambton, who at the time was a commoner, an army officer and the son of an MP, was under 21 and was refused permission to marry by his guardians.[4] Harriet's father also forbade the marriage.[5] The couple eloped to Scotland and married at Gretna Green on 1 January 1812; they subsequently went through an Anglican wedding ceremony on Harriet's father's estate at Malpas, Cheshire, on 28 January. They had three daughters, all of whom died as young women:
- Lady Frances Charlotte (16 October 1812 – 18 December 1835), who married the Hon. John Ponsonby (later 5th Earl of Bessborough), but died a few months later of consumption; they had no children.
- The Hon. Georgiana Sarah Elizabeth (2 March 1814 – 3 January 1833), who died unmarried
- The Hon. Harriet Caroline (30 May 1815 – 12 June 1832), who died unmarried
Harriet died, probably of tuberculosis,[4] a few weeks after the birth of her youngest daughter.