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The Countess of Hertford | |
|---|---|
_by_Alexander_Roslin.jpg) Isabella, Countess of Hertford byAlexander Roslin (1765) | |
| Born | 1726 |
| Died | 10 October 1782(1782-10-10) (aged 55–56) |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | 13 |
| Father | Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton |
| Mother | Lady Henrietta Somerset |
Isabella Seymour-Conway (née FitzRoy; 1726 – 10 November 1782),[1] was the wife ofFrancis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford.
She was the daughter ofCharles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, and thus descended in the illegitimate line from KingCharles II. Her mother was Henrietta FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton, formerly Lady Henrietta Somerset.
She married Seymour-Conway on 29 May 1741, when he was stillBaron Conway. Their children were:
She became a countess when her husband was created an earl in 1750. In the 1760s the earl was appointed Ambassador to France and was accompanied by his wife, whose portrait was painted in Paris byAlexander Roslin. The countess was an art collector and in 1759 was introduced toWilliam Hunter, who remained a friend. Hunter was founder of theHunterian Museum and Art Gallery, where her portrait now hangs. From 1768 until her death, the countess was aLady of the Bedchamber toCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of KingGeorge III of the United Kingdom.[2]
The earl and countess were the subject of at least two caricatures created by the political cartoonistJames Gillray. One of these, "Dame rat, and her poor little ones", published in 1782, shows Isabella and her husband in the company ofCharles James Fox. The other, "The Jubilee", shows the couple dancing around a gallows from which hangs a fox.[3]
She died, aged 56, after a visit to their grandson atForde's Farm,Thames Ditton, where she was taken ill.Horace Walpole, who was related to the earl and a correspondent of the countess, said, "Lord Hertford's loss is beyond measure. She was not only the most affectionate wife, but the most useful one, and almost the only person I ever saw that never neglected or put off or forgot anything that was to be done. She was always proper, either in the highest life or in the most domestic." It was after the countess's death that the earl was given the titleMarquess of Hertford.
Through her son,Hugh, she is an ancestor of the lateDiana, Princess of Wales.