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 State rel ...

noblewoman A noblewoman is a female member of the nobility. Noblewomen form a disparate group, which has evolved over time. Ennoblement of women has traditionally been a rare occurrence; the majority of noblewomen were linked to the nobility by either their ...

. She was one of the Windsor Beauties 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 ...

Life

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 Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, (March 1642 – 2 May 1711) was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He held high office under Queen Anne, daug ...

, 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 fro ...

and Frances Aylesbury. Henrietta had four children. In November 1677, she was appointed to succeed Frances Villiers as the governess of the children of the Duke of York.Wilson, J. H. (1976). Court Satires of the Restoration. USA: Ohio State University Press. p. 60 Like most of the Boyle dynasty, who in the space of two generations had become almost all-powerful in the south of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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, 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 spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

. 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 Earl of Ormond (Ireland), earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, ...

, * Lady Mary Hyde, (1669-1709) who married Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway, *

Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester, Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (June 1672 – 10 December 1753), styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711, was an English Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the English House of ...

(ca. 1672 – 10 December 1753), * Lady Henrietta Hyde (ca. 1677 – 30 May 1730), who married

James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith {{Infobox noble , name = James Scott , title = Earl of Dalkeith , image = James Scott, 1674-1705, 2nd Earl of Dalkeith.jpg , caption = , more = no , tenure = , reign-type = , predecessor = James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , successor = ...

. 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, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

, 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 Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

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 Governesses to the English Royal Household Court of Charles II of England {{England-earl-stub