(Mary Sophia) Charlotte Howe, Viscountess Howe (23 September 1703 – 13 June 1782) was a Hanover-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

and politician. Born Baroness Sophia Charlotte Mary (the order of her

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost in ...

al names were later changed after her marriage) von Kielmansegg (probably in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

), she was the eldest daughter of the Baron and Baroness von Kielmansegg (later Countess of Leinster and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwe ...

), the half-sister of George Louis, Elector of Hanover. It was popularly rumoured that the countess and her half-brother were lovers, and that her children were in fact his illegitimate offspring. When the elector became King of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in 1714, the von Kielmansegg family followed him to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. On 8 August 1719, Charlotte married Emanuel Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe. The king gave the couple £750 per annum, which was later raised to £1250. The couple had ten children, including Hon. George Augustus Howe, Hon. Richard Howe and Hon. William Howe (successively Viscounts Howe). Charlotte was naturalised as a British citizen by Act of Parliament in 1722. Lady Howe died in 1782 at her home in

Albemarle Street Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he received ...

and was buried at Langar.

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Charlotte Howe, Viscountess Irish viscountesses Businesspeople from Hanover 1703 births 1782 deaths Ladies of the Bedchamber Nobility from Hanover Household of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...