Georgiana Carolina Fox, 1st Baroness Holland, of Holland (27 March 1723 – 24 July 1774), known as Lady Caroline Lennox before 1744 and as Lady Caroline Fox from 1744 to 1762, was the eldest of the

Lennox sisters The Lennox sisters were four eighteenth-century British aristocrats, the daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1701–1750) by his wife Lady Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, Sarah Cadogan (1705–1751). The four sisters ...

Family background

The Lennox sisters were daughters of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richm ...

, and his wife, Sarah Cadogan. Charles Lennox was the grandson of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

through the King's relationship with

Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (5 September 1649 – 14 November 1734) was a French mistress of King Charles II of England. She was also made Duke of Aubigny#Lennox_Dukes_of_Aubigny, Duchess of Aubigny in the p ...

. In 1744, Lady Caroline

eloped Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...

with Henry Fox, a politician who was 18 years her senior. Though her parents disapproved of the marriage, it proved a happy one. The couple had four sons, including the Whig

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...

and the general

Henry Edward Fox General Henry Edward Fox (4 March 1755 – 18 July 1811) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Minorca and governor of Gibraltar. Family He was a son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland and Lady Carol ...

. Their home, Holland House, Kensington, became a social and political gathering place.

Passed over

Lady Caroline's favourite sister, Emily Lennox, married and went to live in Ireland in 1747. In 1750 and 1751, the Lennox sisters' parents died in quick succession, leaving three younger daughters, Louisa, Sarah, and Cecilia, aged eight, six, and one. The 2nd Duke of Richmond, in his will, remembered Lady Caroline's reckless elopement, passed over her and instructed that his three youngest daughters be entrusted to the care of their sister Emily and her husband, James FitzGerald, 20th Earl of Kildare. Lady Caroline resented this slight but hoped to redeem herself by presenting her younger sisters at court and helping them make good matches. She was present at the celebrations for the Prince of Wales's birthday as there is a reference to her outfit in a letter by Mary Pendarves (became Delany) dated 29 November 1742 which notes that Lady Caroline Lennox wore the finest clothes of "gold and colours on white, embroidered by Mrs Wright". The Kildares' allegations that the Foxes were responsible for

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life Lady Sarah Lennox was born on 14 February 1745, the sixt ...

's embarrassing rejection by the young King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, as well as her disastrous marriage to Sir Charles Bunbury soon afterwards, provoked a quarrel between the sisters that was not healed until shortly before Lady Caroline's death.

Baroness

On 3 May 1762, Caroline was created Baroness Holland of Holland in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. Her husband was created Baron Holland of Foxley less than a year later, on 17 April 1763. Caroline's two spoilt sons, especially the elder one Stephen, caused her much embarrassment and distress by gambling and falling into debt.

Illness and death

Lady Caroline was already plagued by a mysterious and painful illness when her husband, who had suffered a stroke, died on 1 July 1774. She followed him 23 days later and is buried at All Saints,

Farley, Wiltshire Farley is a village in southeast Wiltshire, England, about east of Salisbury. Geography Farley is one of the Dun Valley villages, together with East Grimstead, West Dean and Pitton. Streams which form the River Dun rise to the west and ...

In media

Aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

'', a six-part television drama based on

Stella Tillyard Stella Tillyard FRSL (born 1957) is a British author and historian, educated at Oxford and Harvard Universities and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1999 her bestselling book ''Aristocrats'' was made into a six-part series for ...

's biography of Caroline and her sisters, first aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Hereditary peeresses of Great Britain created by George III British baronesses Daughters of British dukes 1723 births 1774 deaths Caroline Caroline