Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
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Her Grace The Duchess of Devonshire |
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Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c. 1775, The Devonshire Collection
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Georgiana Spencer 7 June 1757 Althorp, Northamptonshire |
| Died | 30 March 1806 (aged 48) Devonshire House, London |
| Resting place | Derby Cathedral |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) |
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (m. 1774–1806; her death) |
| Children |
Georgiana Howard, Countess of Carlisle Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire Eliza Courtney |
| Parents |
John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer Margaret Georgiana Poyntz, Countess Spencer |
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (née Spencer; /dʒɒrˈdʒeɪnə/ jor-JAY-nə; 7 June 1757 – 30 March 1806) was an English socialite, style icon, author, and activist. Of noble birth from the House of Spencer, married into the House of Cavendish, she was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and the mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire.
As the 5th Duchess of Devonshire, she garnered much attention and fame in society during her lifetime. With a preeminent position in the peerage of England, the duchess was famous for her beauty, charisma, and leading fashion and style; political campaigning; emotionally and psychologically conflicting marital arrangements and love affairs; and socializing and gambling.
She was the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Their lives, centuries apart, have been compared in tragedy in contemporary time.
The duchess was born Miss Georgiana Spencer, on 7 June 1757, as the first child of John Spencer (later Earl Spencer) and his wife, Georgiana (née Poyntz, later Countess Spencer), at the Spencer family home, Althorp. After her daughter's birth, her mother wrote that "I will own I feel so partial to my Dear little Gee, that I think I never shall love another so well". Two younger siblings followed: Henrietta and George. (A niece later born to Henrietta, Lady Caroline Lamb, would become a writer and lover of Lord Byron). Mr John Spencer, great-grandson of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, came from a wealthy English noble family. He built a Spencer family residence at St. James's, London and raised his children there. The parents raised Georgiana and her siblings in a marriage which bears no record of there ever having been any extramarital affairs - a rarity in the era. Meanwhile, Georgiana grew to be close to her mother who was said to favour Georgiana over her other children.
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