Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Orkney
Encyclopedia
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of William III & II
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, King of England and Scotland, from 1680 until 1695. She was a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to his wife and co-monarch, Queen Mary II
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
.
Life
She was born to Colonel Sir Edward Villiers of Richmond, Surrey and Frances Howard, herself the youngest daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of SuffolkTheophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, KG was an English nobleman and politician.Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife Catherine Knyvet of Charlton, and succeeded his father in 1626.Sir Theophilus Howard was named in...
and Elizabeth Hume. As governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
to the princesses Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
and Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, Lady Villiers secured for her children both place and influence in the future Queen Mary II's household: Elizabeth's sisters Anne and Katherine were among the maids of honour
Maids of Honour
Maids of honour were the junior attendants of a queen in the royal households of England and later of the United Kingdom. Anne of Brittany is said to have instituted the queen's maids of honour at the court.-Role:...
who accompanied Lady Mary to the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, to serve as Princess of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
; meanwhile, her brother Edward
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey son of Sir Edward Villiers of Richmond and Frances Howard, the youngest daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk and Elizabeth Hume, was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697.His grandfather, Sir Edward...
, later created 1st Earl of Jersey
Earl of Jersey
Earl of the Island of Jersey, usually shortened to Earl of Jersey, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1697 for the statesman Edward Villiers, 1st Viscount Villiers, Ambassador to France from 1698 to 1699 and Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1699 to 1700...
, was Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
. She was also the founder of Midleton College in 1696, a private boarding school in Co Cork, Ireland.
Three years after the wedding of William and Mary, Elizabeth became his acknowledged mistress. In 1685, Mary's father James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
exploited rumors of William's infidelity in an attempt to cause a split between his daughter and her unfaithful prince. After his ascension to the English throne, William settled on her a large share of the confiscated Irish estates of the late James II. Parliament revoked this grant in 1699.
Shortly after Mary II's death, William ended his relationship with Elizabeth Villiers, motivated, it is said, by his wife's expressed wishes.
In 1694, two men fought a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
possibly over the affections of Elizabeth Villiers. John Law
John Law (economist)
John Law was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself and that national wealth depended on trade...
, then still a penniless young man, killed Edward "Beau" Wilson on 9 April 1694. Wilson had challenged Law, although Law may have provoked Wilson on the instigation of Villiers, due to a conflict she had with Wilson regarding money and attempted blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
. Law was tried and initially found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to a fine, upon the ground that the offence only amounted to manslaughter. Wilson's brother appealed and had Law imprisoned, but he managed to escape to the continent.
On 25 November 1695 Elizabeth was married to her cousin, Lord George Hamilton
George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
Field Marshal George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney KT was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The son of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, he fought for William of Orange in Ireland and the Low Countries...
, fifth son of the 3rd Duke of Hamilton. He was gratified early in the next year with the titles Earl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...
, Viscount of Kirkwall, and Baron Dechmont. Elizabeth, newly Countess of Orkney, served her husband's interests with great skill and the marriage proved a happy one. She died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 19 April 1733.
Lady Orkney retained a degree of social importance in the Hanoverian
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
era, and was hostess to both George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
and George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
at her estate at Cliveden
Cliveden
Cliveden is an Italianate mansion and estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on banks above the River Thames, its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Family
Elizabeth Villiers was a first cousin of Barbara VilliersBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled...
, a mistress of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, as their fathers were brothers. Her paternal aunt was Elizabeth Villiers, Countess of Morton
Anne Villiers, Countess of Morton
Anne Villiers was an English noblewoman and Countess of Morton. She was famed for her beauty, bravery and loyalty to the throne. The first half of the 17th century closet drama Cicilia and Clorinda was dedicated to her....
, the godmother and governess of Princess Henrietta. Her brother was Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey
Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey son of Sir Edward Villiers of Richmond and Frances Howard, the youngest daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk and Elizabeth Hume, was created Baron Villiers and Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of Jersey in 1697.His grandfather, Sir Edward...
, whose great-grandson married Frances Twysden
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...
, yet another royal mistress.
Issue
By George Hamilton, 1st Earl of OrkneyGeorge Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
Field Marshal George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney KT was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The son of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, he fought for William of Orange in Ireland and the Low Countries...
, son of Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton
Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton
Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton was a Scottish peeress.The daughter of Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish General and premier peer of the realm, and Lady Mary Feilding, daughter of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh and Lady Susan Villiers, a...
, and William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton
William Douglas, Duke of Hamilton
William Douglas-Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC , born Lord William Douglas, was the son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and his second wife Lady Mary Gordon, a daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly...
, Elizabeth Villiers had three daughters, the eldest of which inherited her husband's estate and title:
- Lady AnneAnne O'Brien, 2nd Countess of OrkneyAnne Douglas-Hamilton, 2nd Countess of Orkney was a Scottish noblewoman and the eldest daughter of Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, and Elizabeth Villiers....
, suo jure Countess of Orkney, married her cousin William O'Brien, 4th Earl of InchiquinWilliam O'Brien, 4th Earl of InchiquinWilliam McWilliam O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin, KB, PC was an Irish peer and politician.-Background:O'Brien was the eldest son of William O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin and his wife, Mary , sister of the 1st Earl of Jersey, and inherited his father's titles in 1719.-Political career:Inchiquin...
(1700 – 18 July 1777) on 29 March 1720 - Lady FrancesFrances Lumley-Saunderson, Countess of ScarbroughFrances Douglas-Hamilton was the daughter of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney and his wife, Elizabeth Villiers. She was a lady of the bedchamber to Caroline, Princess of Wales, later Queen Caroline of Great Britain and Princess Augusta of Wales.On 27 June 1724, she married Thomas...
, married Thomas Lumley-Saunderson, 3rd Earl of ScarbroughThomas Lumley-Saunderson, 3rd Earl of ScarbroughThomas Lumley-Saunderson, 3rd Earl of Scarbrough, KB was a British peer and diplomat.Born The Hon. Thomas Lumley, he was the third son of Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough and his wife, Frances... - Lady Henrietta, married John Boyle, 5th Earl of CorkJohn Boyle, 5th Earl of CorkJohn Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery, FRS was a writer and a friend of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson....
Further reading
- Rachel WeilRachel WeilRachel Judith Weil is a teacher and scholar, specializing in gender and culture in 17th and 18th century England. She is currently an associate professor of early modern English political and cultural history in the Department of History at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Weil received her B.A....
, ‘Villiers [Hamilton], Elizabeth, countess of Orkney (c.1657-1733)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004) - available online to those with a subscription.