Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (née Lady Caroline FitzRoy; 8 April 1722 – 26 June 1784) was a British socialite and '' demimondaine''. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Charles II. After being blackballed by the English social group The Female Coterie, she founded The New Female Coterie, a social club of

courtesans A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

and "

fallen women "Fallen woman" is an archaic term which was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. In 19th-century Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the loss or surrender of a ...

" that met in a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

. Known for her infidelity and bisexuality, she was nicknamed the "Stable Yard Messalina" due to her adulterous lifestyle. Her "colourful" life is often contrasted with that of her daughter-in-law, Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, who was viewed as a respectable member of British

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

Family

Lady Caroline was born on 8 April 1722, the fifth child of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton and Lady Henrietta Somerset, the daughter of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester. Lady Caroline married William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington on 11 August 1746. Together they had seven children, including Isabella Molyneux, Countess of Sefton and Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington. Lady Caroline and her husband were both notorious for their extramarital affairs, but they chose to stay married to prevent the scandal of divorce. Lady Caroline was reportedly

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

and had male and female lovers.

The New Female Coterie

Due to her rather scandalous reputation in society, Lady Caroline was blackballed from the Female Coterie, an elite social group, affiliated with

Almack's Almack's was the name of a number of establishments and social clubs in London between the 18th and 20th centuries. Two of the social clubs would go on to fame as Brooks's and Boodle's. Almack's most famous establishment was based in assembly ...

, for members of London's

. Lady Caroline instead founded her own group, The New Female Coterie, which included other members of the

British upper class The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, ...

who were shunned by high society due to their reputations, particularly for women who had been guilty of committing adultery. The meetings were held in a brothel owned by Sarah Prendergast. Seymour Fleming, Lady Worsley, the sister of Lady Caroline's daughter-in-law, was among the members of the new club. Lady Caroline was nicknamed "Stable Yard Messalina" by the press. The nickname was a reference to Empress Messalina, the controversial wife of Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, and to the Harrington home in

St James's Park St James's Park is a urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the ...

, located near the stable yard. '' Town & Country'' published a story accusing her of having affairs with all echelons of society "from a monarch down to a hairdresser."

Legacy

Lady Caroline is a subject in the books ''In Bed with the Georgians: Sex, Scandal & Satire in the 18th Century'' by Mike Rendell, ''The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce'' by Hallie Rubenhold, and ''Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House'' by Susan Law.

References

{{Authority control 1722 births 1784 deaths 18th-century English women 18th-century English nobility Harrington Daughters of English dukes English courtesans English socialites FitzRoy family LGBTQ nobility British bisexual women Sex scandals in the United Kingdom Stanhope family 18th-century English LGBTQ people