Georgiana's feelings clearly showed on her face, while the Duke appeared inscrutable. His new wife may have occupied his thoughts, although they may well have turned to another Spencer. Not very far away in a rented villa, on a discreet road where gauche: "To be sure the jewell has not been well polished: had he fallen under the tuition of the late Lord Chesterfield he might have possessed les graces, but at present only that of his dukedom belongs to him."43 was almost seventeen and preparing to make her entrance into society. Hers was not to be an arranged marriage in the sense of those common a generation before. She was not exchanged in lieu of gambling debts, nor thrown of her own, and is happy in an education which it is to be hoped will counteract any ill effect from what may too naturally turn her head."

Artwork representing the Duchess of Devonshire by reputable painters of the Georgian era remain, including a 1787 portrait by the famed Thomas Gainsborough which was once thought lost. first families of England and commanded a special place in British history. They had been involved in politics since the reign of Henry VIII, when Sir William Cavendish oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries. Sir William The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 19, repro. 20.

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As was common among the aristocracy of her time, Georgiana routinely gambled for leisure and amusement. However, her gaming spiraled into a ruinous addiction made worse by her emotional instability. Early life and family [ edit ] A young Miss Georgiana Spencer with her mother, Margaret Georgiana Spencer. Painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds Before their marriage, the Duke had fathered an illegitimate daughter, Charlotte Williams, born from a dalliance with a former milliner, Charlotte Spencer (of no relation to the House of Spencer). [6] This was unknown to the Duchess until years after her marriage to the Duke. After the death of the child's mother, the Duchess was compelled to raise Charlotte herself. [3] Georgiana was "very pleased" with Charlotte, although her own mother Lady Spencer expressed disapproval: "I hope you have not talk'd of her to people". The besotted Georgiana replied, "She is the best humoured little thing you ever saw". [6] In 1782 Lady Elizabeth Foster (1759-1824) and Georgiana began a friendship which would last the rest of Georgiana’s life. Elizabeth, known as Bess, became a companion and support to the Duchess but Bess also had a relationship with Duke.

An account book for Devonshire House. Mr Gilbert, the hairdresser, is listed between the cook and the valet de chambre. During her early forties, the Duchess of Devonshire devoted her time to the coming out of her eldest daughter, Lady Georgiana Dorothy Cavendish. The debutante was presented in 1800, and the Duchess saw her daughter wed Lord Morpeth, the heir apparent of the Earl of Carlisle, in 1801; it was the first and only time the Duchess of Devonshire saw one of her issue marry. [6]Peter Townend (ed), Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition, London 1970 (1978, 3rd impression). De Beer, Gavin (1948). "Rowley Lascelles". Notes & Queries. 193 (5): 97–99. doi: 10.1093/nq/193.5.97a. He was displeased when she gives birth to a girl, and Georgiana was lest then impressed when she learnt of his affair with her best friend Lady Bess Foster. The apotheosis of the Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Spencer (1757 – 1806), wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)