Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset
| Elizabeth Seymour Duchess of Somerset |
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|---|---|
Lady Elizabeth Percy (Duchess of Somerset), painted in 1713 by Godfrey Kneller (1646/9-1723); collection of Petworth House
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| Born |
26 January 1667 Petworth House, Sussex |
| Died | 24 November 1722 (aged 55) Northumberland House, London |
| Nationality |
 English |
| Occupation | Courtier and politician |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Henry Cavendish, Earl of Ogle (c. 1659 – 1680) (2) Thomas Thynne(1648–1682) (3) Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748) |
| Children |
Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (1684–1750) Lady Elizabeth Seymour (1685–1734) Lady Catherine Seymour (died 1731) Lady Anne Seymour (died 1722) |
| Parent(s) | Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670) and Elizabeth Wriothesley (died 1690) |
Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset and suo jure Baroness Percy (26 January 1667 – 24 November 1722) was a great heiress. She was styled Lady Elizabeth Percy between 1667 and 1679, Elizabeth Percy, Countess of Ogle between 1679 and 1680, Elizabeth Percy, Dowager Countess of Ogle between 1680 and 1681, Lady Elizabeth Thynne between 1681 and 1682 and Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset between 1682 and 1722. Elizabeth was the only surviving child and sole heiress of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670). Lady Elizabeth was one of the closest personal friends of Queen Anne, which led Jonathan Swift to direct at her one of his sharpest satires, The Windsor Prophecy in which she was named "Carrots."
She married three times, producing children by the third marriage only:
At the age of 12 she married firstly on 27 March 1679, the 20 year-old Henry Cavendish, Earl of Ogle (1659 – 1 November 1680), the only son and heir of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, who in accordance with the marriage settlement adopted the surname of Percy in lieu of his patronymic. However he died the following year and was buried in the parish church at the Percy seat of Petworth. Without children, although due to her young age the marriage probably had not been consummated.
On 15 November 1681 at the age of 14, she married secondly to Thomas Thynne (died 1682) of Longleat, Wiltshire, known due to his great income as "Tom of Ten Thousand", a relative of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth. He was murdered the following February by a gang on the order of Swedish Count Karl Johann von Königsmark, who had started to pursue her following rumour that her marriage was unhappy. For the rest of her life her enemies spread the story that she had incited the murder. The actual murderers were hanged, but Königsmark was acquitted of being an accessory to the crime, despite widespread public feeling against him. Without children.
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