Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (born Lady Charlotte Gordon; 20 September 1768 – 5 May 1842) cites was a Scottish aristocrat and peeress best known as the hostess of the famed ball held in Brussels on the eve of the

Battle of Quatre Bras The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras and was contested between el ...

Biography

Born at

Gordon Castle Gordon Castle is a country house located near Fochabers in the parish of Bellie in Moray, Scotland. It was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon and was originally called Bog-of-Gight. The six-storey medieval tower dates from 1498 and in th ...

, Lady Charlotte Gordon was the eldest child of

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, (18 June 1743 – 17 June 1827), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish peer who was described by Lord Kames as the "greatest subject in Britain". He was also known as the "Cock o' the North", ...

, and his wife, Jane Maxwell. On 9 September 1789, she married Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox and 4th Duke of Aubigny. In 1814, the family moved to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where the Duchess gave the ball at which the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

received confirmation that the

Army of the North The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...

under the command of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

had entered the territory of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

near

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

(in what is now the

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southe ...

). The Duchess and her family continued to live in Brussels until 1818, when her husband was appointed

Governor General of British North America The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Ca ...

. The Duchess was widowed in 1819, and in 1836, she inherited the vast Gordon estates on the death of her brother, the 5th Duke of Gordon, who left no legitimate children. She died in London on 5 May 1842 at the age of 73.

Family

The Duke and Duchess had seven sons and seven daughters: *

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, (''né'' Lennox; 3 August 179121 October 1860), styled the Earl of March from 1806–19, was a Scottish peer, soldier and prominent Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Upon the death of ...

(3 August 1791 – 21 October 1860), married Lady Caroline Paget, eldest daughter of Field Marshal

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

, and had issue; ancestor of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

through his granddaughter

Rosalind Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn Dame Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, (26 February 1869 – 18 January 1958; ''Maiden and married names, née'' Lady Rosalind Bingham) was a British aristocracy, British aristocrat and the Duke of Abercorn, Duchess of A ...

*Lady Mary Lennox cites ( – 7 December 1847), married Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Fitzroy, and had issue *Lieutenant-Colonel Lord John George Lennox (3 October 1793 – 10 November 1873), married Louisa Rodney, daughter of Captain Hon. John Rodney, and had issue *Lady Sarah Lennox ( – 8 September 1873), married General Sir Peregrine Maitland, and had issue *Lady Georgiana Lennox (30 September 1795 – 15 December 1891), married General William FitzGerald-de Ros, 22nd Baron de Ros, and had issue *Lord Henry Adam Lennox (6 September 1797 – 25 February 1812), fell overboard from HMS ''Blake'' and drowned *Captain Lord William Pitt Lennox (20 September 1799 – 18 February 1881), married (1) Mary Ann Paton, eldest daughter of George Paton; (2) Ellen Smith, daughter of John Smith, by whom he had issue; (3) Maria Molyneux, eldest daughter of Revd Capel Molyneux *Lady Jane Lennox ( – 27 March 1861), married

Laurence Peel Laurence Peel (28 June 1801 – 10 December 1888) was a British Tory politician and the younger brother of Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Laurence was described by one historian as "the youngest and l ...

, and had issue *Captain Lord Frederick Lennox (24 January 1801 – 25 October 1829), died unmarried * Lord Sussex Lennox (11 June 1802 – 12 April 1874), married Hon. Mary Lawless, elder daughter of

Valentine Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry Valentine Brown Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry (19 August 1773 – 28 October 1853), was an Irish peer, politician and landowner. In the 1790s he was an emissary in radical and reform circles in London for the Society of United Irishmen, and w ...

, and had issue *Lady Louisa Maddelena Lennox (2 October 1803 – 2 March 1900), married Rt Hon. William Tighe, and had no issue *Lady Charlotte Lennox ( – 20 August 1833), married Admiral Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge of Bristol, and had issue *Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Arthur Lennox (2 October 1806 – 15 January 1864), married Adelaide Campbell, fifth daughter of Colonel John Campbell, and had issue *Lady Sophia Georgiana Lennox (21 July 1809 – 17 January 1902), married

Lord Thomas Cecil Lord Thomas Cecil (1797–1873) was a British peer and member of Parliament for Stamford from 1818 to 1832. Cecil was the youngest of the three sons of Henry Cecil, 1st Marquess of Exeter, by his second wife Sarah.Mosley, Charles, editor. Bur ...

, and had no issue

Notes

References

* Endnotes: ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Charlotte, Duchess of 1768 births 1842 deaths People from Fochabers Nobility from Moray English duchesses by marriage Daughters of British dukes Charlotte Wives of knights Burials at Chichester Cathedral Charlotte