Henrietta Hyde, Countess of Rochester (''née'' Boyle; 1646 – 12 April 1687) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. She was one of the

Windsor Beauties The Windsor Beauties are a set of portrait paintings, still in the Royal Collection, by Sir Peter Lely and his workshop, produced in the early to mid-1660s, that depict ladies of the court of King Charles II, some of whom were his mistresses. ...

painted by Sir

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. Life Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...

. She was born in Wiltshire, England to Sir Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork and Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Cork. In 1665, she married Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, son of

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II from ...

and Frances Aylesbury. Henrietta had four children. Like most of the Boyle dynasty, who in the space of two generations had become almost all-powerful in the south of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Henrietta was strong-minded and acquisitive, and could be ruthless in asserting her rights. During the last two years of her life, when her husband was Chief Minister to his brother-in-law King

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

, Henrietta took full advantage of his power to claim every possible privilege. She clashed bitterly with her husband's niece, the future Queen Anne, over who should have the best apartments in

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...

. Anne, who could herself be a formidable opponent, complained bitterly of her aunt's "peevishness" to her.

Children

* Lady Anne Hyde (died 25 January 1684/85), who married

James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protes ...

, * Lady Mary Hyde, (1669-1709) who married Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway, * Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon (ca. 1672 – 10 December 1753), * Lady Henrietta Hyde (ca. 1677 – 30 May 1730), who married

James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith Order of the Thistle, KT (23 May 1674 – 14 March 1705) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch. He was also the grand ...

."Lady Henrietta Boyle"
''thepeerage.com'' Accessed 6 June 2008 Anne and the younger Henrietta were both noted for their wit and charm. Anne's early death, following a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

, was a great blow to her parents, her husband and all her friends. Her sister Lady Dalkeith, despite many personal tragedies, is said to have retained her good nature and charm into her fifties.

References

Sources

*Gregg, Edward ''Queen Anne''

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

2001 * Chester, Joseph Lemuel. ''The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster.'' (p. 329) 1876
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"Henrietta, Countess of Rochester. (1833)"
''NYPL'' 1646 births 1687 deaths English countesses Daughters of Irish earls Henrietta Henrietta 17th-century English women 17th-century English people Wives of knights {{England-earl-stub