Isabella Bennet FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton and later 2nd Countess of Arlington ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' (c. 1668 – 7 February 1723), was a British peer and heiress.

Life

Isabella Bennet was the only daughter of

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, KG, PC (1618 – 28 July 1685) was an English statesman. Background and early life He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Crofts of Little Saxham, Suf ...

, a Royalist commander, by his wife, Elisabeth of Nassau (1633–1718). Elisabeth was a daughter of

Louis of Nassau-Beverweerd Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd (1602 – The Hague, 28 February 1665) was a Dutch soldier. He was the illegitimate son of Margaretha van Mechelen and Maurice, Prince of Orange, and so a collateral member of the House of Oran ...

and thus a granddaughter of

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

, and a great-granddaughter of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

. Henry Bennet was created

Baron Arlington Baron Arlington is a title in the Peerage of England which was created, on 14 March 1665, for Sir Henry Bennet,Alan Marshall, ‘Bennet, Henry, first earl of Arlington (bap. 1618, d. 1685)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxfor ...

in 1665 for his loyalty to the crown. Lord Arlington was later raised in the peerage to the titles of Earl of Arlington and Viscount Thetford, all of which were created with a

special remainder In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the ...

to allow his daughter to inherit. She was married at the age of four to Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (later created

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

), the nine-year-old illegitimate son of King Charles II. The wedding ceremony was repeated on 7 November 1679 and they lived at

Euston Hall Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown, located in Euston, a small village in Suffolk located just south of Thetford, England. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton. The Hall Euston first appears ...

. Isabella and her husband had one son, Charles FitzRoy, who succeeded his parents as 2nd Duke of Grafton and 3rd Earl of Arlington. After her husband's death in 1690 from a wound received at the storming of Cork while leading the forces of William of Orange, she remarried on 14 October 1698 to

Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet (24 September 1677 – 7 May 1746) was Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1714 to 1715, discharging the duties of the office with conspicuous impartiality. His second marriage was the subject of ...

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. They remained married until her death on 7 February 1723.

Other

Isabella was one of the

Hampton Court Beauties The Hampton Court Beauties are a series of eight portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller, commissioned by Queen Mary II of England, depicting the most glamorous ladies from the court of William III. They adorn the state rooms of King William III at ...

painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for

Queen Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

. Isabella also walked at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

of Queen Anne.

References

External links

"Isabella Fitzroy (née Bennet), Duchess of Grafton "
''FitzWilliam Museum''
"Isabella Fitzroy (née Bennet), Duchess of Grafton"
''National Portrait Gallery 1660s births 1723 deaths Year of birth uncertain

FitzRoy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

English duchesses by marriage Wives of baronets Daughters of British earls Arlington, Isabella FitzRoy, 2nd Countess of

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

Wives of knights {{England-earl-stub