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 Cadogan (1705–1751). The four sisters were: * Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland (17 ...

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 Richmo ...

, and Sarah Cadogan. Charles Lennox was the grandson of Charles II of England through the King's relationship with

Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth (5 September 1649 – 14 November 1734) was a mistress of Charles II of England. Early life Louise was the daughter of Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kéroualle (d. 1690) ...

. In 1744, Lady Caroline eloped 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 active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

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

and the general

Henry Edward Fox General Henry Edward Fox (4 March 1755 – 18 July 1811) was a British Army general who served brief spells as Governor of Minorca and Governor of Gibraltar. Family He was a son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland and Lady Caroline Lennox (1723–1 ...

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

Passed over

Lady Caroline's favourite sister,

Emily Lennox Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (6 October 1731 – 27 March 1814), known before 1747 as Lady Emily Lennox, from 1747 to 1761 as The Countess of Kildare and from 1761 to 1766 as The Marchioness of Kildare, was the second of the famous Lenno ...

, 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. 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 After the deaths of both her parents when she was only f ...

'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 of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, 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. 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 so ...

In media

Aristocrats Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

'', a six-part television drama based on Stella Tillyard's biography of Caroline and her sisters, first aired on

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

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