Anna Maria Brydges, (formerly Talbot; Brudenell; 25 March 1642 – 20 April 1702) known as the Countess of Shrewsbury from 1659 to 1677, by virtue of her marriage to

Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, 11th Earl of Waterford (1623 – 16 March 1668), was an England, English Peerage, peer who was a Royalist officer in the English Civil War. He survived the war only to be mortally wounded in a duel with the ...

, was an English aristocrat.

Biography

Born on 25 March 1642, she was the eldest daughter of

Robert Brudenell Robert Brudenell (20 September 1726 – 20 October 1768) was a British army officer and Member of Parliament. Brudenell was the third son of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Elizabeth Bruce and a younger brother of the 1st Duke of Montagu ...

, who succeeded to the earldom of Cardigan as the second earl in 1663. Her mother was Anne Savage, the earl's second wife. Her brother was Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell, whose daughter was Lady Frances Brudenell. Anna Maria married

, on 10 January 1659, and they had one son,

Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury (15 July 16601 February 1718) was a British Whig statesman who was part of the Immortal Seven group that invited William of Orange to depose King James II of England during the Glorious Revolution. Bo ...

, born on 15 July 1660. She was a passionate and unfaithful woman (harsher critics have called her a nymphomaniac). Her numerous lovers included

Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover Henry Jermyn, 3rd Baron Jermyn and 1st Baron Dover, 1st Jacobite Earl of Dover Privy Council of England, PC (c. 1636 – 6 April 1708) was an England, English courtier, peer and favourite of James II of England, James II. Jermyn was born into a ...

, and Colonel Thomas Howard (younger brother of

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle (162824 February 1685) was an English military leader and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660 and was created Earl of Carlisle in 1661. Biography Howard was the ...

). In 1662, they fought a celebrated duel for her favour in which Jermyn was left for dead and his second, Giles Rawlings, was killed. In 1667, the countess embarked on an affair with

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 19th Baron de Ros (30 January 1628 – 16 April 1687) was an English statesman and poet who exerted considerable political power during the reign of Charles II of England. A Royalist during the Engl ...

, and the earl challenged Villiers to a duel. The countess is said to have been present, disguised as a boy, and to have held the duke's horse. Her husband died of the injuries inflicted on him in the duel which was fought with swords at

Barn Elms Barn Elms is an park, open space in Barnes, London, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, located on the northerly loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham. The WWT London Wetland Centre (105 acres of what were o ...

on 16 January 1668, and was commented upon by

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

in his diary the next day. The sovereign, King Charles II, strongly disapproved of duelling within his realm and the duke temporarily fell out of royal favour as a result. It was said that, at various times, Buckingham fought five different men over Anna. For a time, the Duke of Buckingham kept Anna Maria as his mistress in his family home, where his wife,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, also resided. Anna gave birth to his illegitimate son and created a scandal at court by having the boy baptised in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

.Fraser, Antonia (1979). ''King Charles II''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p.280 Their affair was finally broken off in 1673. The countess went to France and spent some time in a convent. Her legitimate son had been removed from her care. While both his parents were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, his own upbringing was Protestant and as an adult, he conformed to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury later returned to Britain and remarried in 1677

George Rodney Brydges George Rodney Brydges or Bridges (after 1649 – 1714), of Avington, Hampshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1690 and 1714. Brydges was the second surviving son of Sir Thomas Bridg ...

(aft.1649–1714), MP for Haslemere 1690–1698 and Winchester 1700–1714, Her second husband was a younger but 2nd surviving son of Sir Thomas Bridges (d. 1707) of Keynsham, Somerset, by his wife Anne Rodney, daughter and coheiress of Sir Edward Rodney MP of Stoke Rodney, Somerset. From 1678 to 1685, he served as

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

, thanks to his wife buying him a place. The former Countess and George Rodney Brydges had one son George Brydges (1678–1751) also an MP, who died childless.

Legacy

The former countess continued to be a famous beauty. Her portrait was painted by Sir

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 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. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

and is held by the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London. Her statue by Thomas Burman stands in

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis The folk dance, "Anna Maria", is thought to have been named after her.

Sources

Origin of the folk dance

References

External links

BRYDGES (BRIDGES), George Rodney (aft.1649–1714), of Avington, Hants
Published in ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715'', ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002. Retrieved 15 December 2012
BRYDGES (BRIDGES), George (1678–1751), of Avington, Hants
Published in ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715'', ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002. Retrieved 15 December 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shrewsbury, Anna Maria Talbot, Countess Of 1642 births 1702 deaths English countesses

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

Daughters of British earls People from Bromsgrove