Henrietta de Hochepied, Baroness de Hochepied (née Vernon; formerly Baroness Grosvenor) – 1828) was an English aristocrat, socialite, and

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

Early life

She was one of four daughters born to Lady Henrietta ( née Wentworth) Vernon (third daughter of

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...

) and Henry Vernon of Hilton Hall, former

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Lichfield and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

New Female Coterie

After her separation from the Baron Grosvenor (who was made Earl Grosvenor in 1784), Henrietta lived in Paris and London in the subsequent years, with the emotional and financial support of several men, and the press continued to report on her lovers and her appearances at social occasions for decades. She was a member of the social club for the 'demi-reps' nicknamed

the New Female Coterie The New Female Coterie was an 18th-century London social club. The exact founding date is unknown, though it is assumed to be circa 1770, when Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington was blackballed from joining the Female Coterie, a club fo ...

by the English press, whose members comprised fellow elite women publicly shamed for infidelity such as Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington and Seymour Fleming. Janine Barchas suggests that the legacy of the scandals attached to Henrietta Vernon may have inspired Jane Austen in writing her early epistolary novel Lady Susan, which centres on the charming and flirtatious Lady Susan Vernon.

Personal life

On 19 July 1764, she married Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baron Grosvenor, later Earl Grosvenor (1731–1802) at St George's Church, Hanover Square. They had four sons, including: * Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845), who married Eleanor Egerton, the only child of

Thomas Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton Thomas Grey Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton (14 August 1749 – 23 September 1814), known as Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, Bt from 1766 to 1784, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1772 to 1784 when he was raised to the peerage ...

, in 1794. In 1769, Lady Grosvenor was discovered ''in flagrante delicto'' with the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

, brother of

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 ...

. Their affair became a national scandal when her husband sued the duke on the grounds of '

criminal conversation At common law, criminal conversation, often abbreviated as ''crim. con.'', is a tort arising from adultery. "Conversation" is an old euphemism for sexual intercourse that is obsolete except as part of this term. It is similar to breach of pro ...

' with his wife, and the lovers' correspondence was published in the press as part of the trial reports. The jury awarded the baronet damages of £10,000 pounds in recognition of the damage to his marital property. Lady Grosvenor prevented the baron from securing a divorce on the grounds of her adultery by gathering evidence of his own extensive sexual misconduct, personally 'going into bawdy houses ..to search and procure witnesses'. The diarist and artist

Joseph Farington Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist. Life and work Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His ...

dubbed Lord Grosvenor as 'one of the most profligate men of his age, in what relates to women'. This wealth of evidence meant that the baron could not be granted an annulment, and was obliged to support his wife for the rest of his life. The couple's legal separation in 1771 included yearly maintenance payments of £1200 to Lady Grosvenor.

Second marriage

On 1 September 1802 Lady Grosvenor married her longtime companion, the Whig MP

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

, the son of the British diplomat Sir James Porter. George later inherited the Hungarian title of Baron de Hochepied through his mother's line, making Henrietta the Baroness de Hochepied. She died in 1828 in Ealing.

References

{{reflist English courtesans English socialites Grosvenor 1745 births 1828 deaths

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...