Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham
Encyclopedia
Petronilla Melusine von der Schulenburg, 1st Countess of Walsingham (1 April 1693 – 16 September 1778) was the illegitimate daughter of King George I of Great Britain
and his longtime mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal.
In 1722 Melusina was created Countess of Walsingham in her own right as a life peer.
In Isleworth
, Middlesex
, on 5 September 1733 she married Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
, a leading Whig
politician.
The couple had no children, but it is possible that she may have been the mother, through an intimacy with Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
, of Benedict Swingate Calvert
. Calvert was born in England in around 1730-32, the illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. His mother's identity is not completely clear but some sources suggest that she was Melusina von der Schulenburg.
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 his longtime mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal.
In 1722 Melusina was created Countess of Walsingham in her own right as a life peer.
In Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, on 5 September 1733 she married Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG was a British statesman and man of letters.A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London. After being educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he went on the Grand Tour of the continent...
, a leading Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
politician.
The couple had no children, but it is possible that she may have been the mother, through an intimacy with Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, 3rd Proprietor and 17th Proprietary Governor of Maryland, FRS was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland...
, of Benedict Swingate Calvert
Benedict Swingate Calvert
Benedict Swingate Calvert was a Maryland Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland , and may have been the grandson of King George I of Great Britain...
. Calvert was born in England in around 1730-32, the illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. His mother's identity is not completely clear but some sources suggest that she was Melusina von der Schulenburg.