Frances Vane, Viscountess Vane

Frances Anne Vane, Viscountess Vane (formerly Hamilton, née Hawes; c. January 1715 – 31 March 1788),was a British memoirist known for her highly public adulterous relationships.

The daughter of Susanna and Francis Hawes, Frances Anne Hawes was probably born in Winchester Street, London. She was baptised on 14 January 1715 at St Peter le Poer. Her father, a stockbroker and clerk to the treasurer of the navy, became quite wealthy, and was appointed director of the South Sea Company in February 1715. However, he lost most of his fortune as a result of the Sufferer's Act of 1721, following the failed attempt to inflate the price of the South Sea Company's stock. Thus, the future Viscountess Vane grew up in a family plagued by financial problems and could expect little or no dowry. Described as the best minuet dancer in England, she was good-looking and vivacious enough to attract the attention of the 4th Duke of Hamilton's second son, Lord William Hamilton. Her father tried to prevent their relationship, but the couple eloped in May 1733, and Frances Hawes became known as Lady William Hamilton. The couple hurried to consummate the marriage to make it legally binding, fearing that her father might try to have it annulled. Lord William served as Vice-Chamberlain to Caroline of Ansbach but, as the second son, was himself poor enough for the queen to refer to the couple as "handsome beggars". The marriage was short-lived; Lady William was widowed on 11 July next year, shortly after delivering a stillborn child.

Lady William was soon pressured by her family, in-laws and friends to accept the marriage proposal from William Vane, 2nd Viscount Vane. The couple married on 19 May 1735 in Marylebone, and Lady William thus became Viscountess Vane. The union became notoriously unhappy. Lady Vane openly despised the man who adored her, frequently ran away and tried to procure a legal separation. During the couple's visit to Paris in 1736, she fled with the 1st Earl Ferrers's sixth surviving son, Sewallis Shirley. Shirley and Lady Vane lived together in Brussels from 1736 until 1738. Her husband desperately tried to persuade her to return, paying people to search for her and promising a reward in the newspapers for any information about her location in January 1737. Lady Vane was not amused by his efforts. When Shirley left her, she embarked on a liaison with Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley. The relationship with Lord Berkeley ended in 1741, when she accepted her husband's offer of an income and a separate household. Lord Vane and the society believed that her other lovers included Walpole's rival Sir Thomas Aston, 4th Baronet, and Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue, but Lady Vane denied the allegations and insisted they were her friends.

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