Also love the miniatures of her, so pretty. Having lived in Derbyshire too I know exactly what you mean! Most illuminating. I greatly enjoyed reading this. I, too, wonder why the change in burial site, how curious. Thank you for such an interesting read. Thank you so much Peter. Not completely sure to be honest, I would assume they were silent horsemen.
It could also be taken to mean that they were physically mute. Possibly they were on horseback in this instance because it was too far to walk from London. I suspect it was customary for worthies to be buried in their county town. It would take two days to travel from London to Derby,even at speed,with horse changes.
I did read that they passed through Northampton which makes me think they would have collected the men from Althorp, her ancestral home to accompany them. I believe only the men of a family went to funeral services. Slow travel made life so very different to the life we all experience.
I believe that it was not common for women to attend a funeral, they might do something embarrassing like cry! Her great love for Fox and her intellectual fight within the Whig party. The friendship between herself and the Queen of France. The Spencer family changed the burial site. She was a Spencer and the great great great great aunt of Lady Diana Spencer. Thank you for this interesting article. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. When the mourners gathered around the Cavendish plot for the burial, a brass brand played the Frank Sinatra classic New York, New York.
Around mourners packed into the church but hundreds more crowded on to the village green outside to follow the funeral on two giant screens. Known as Debo to family and friends, the dowager probably led the most normal life out of the Mitford sisters — Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity and Jessica — who were the It girls of their day. The Duchess was encouraged by Fox to take a more active role in the Whig party, and in September she made her first election appearance on behalf of the party, climbing the hustings at Westminster to support Fox.
At the same time as she was bringing popularity to the party, Georgiana was also gaining influence through her friendship with the young Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. They were close enough to provoke rumours of an affair but Georgiana always denied that one ever took place. During the election campaign, the Duchess, along with several other Whig women, actively canvassed voters; her success made her a target for the pro-government press which launched a vicious campaign against her, insinuating that she was exchanging kisses for votes.
Thereafter she was hounded by cartoons, handbills, ballads, and newspaper articles, all of which portrayed her as a sexually depraved woman who was corrupting the voters of Westminster. The election was a disaster, both for the Whigs and for Georgiana, who was left with a tattered reputation and thousands of pounds worth of debts.
Her personal life was also in turmoil: in , she befriended Lady Elizabeth or Bess Foster, daughter of Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth earl of Bristol. Bess had separated from her husband, and was living almost destitute with her aunt in Bath. Clever, articulate, and ambitious, Bess became part of the Devonshire household — as Georgiana's best friend, and the Duke's mistress. Bess encouraged Georgiana to live a less self-destructive lifestyle, which may have helped to ensure the successful birth of Lady Georgiana Cavendish, later Countess of Carlisle known as Little G, and Lady Harriet Cavendish, later Countess Granville known as Harryo, However, the Duchess's gambling debts were spiralling out of control, and she was the victim of threats and blackmail from various loan sharks.
She constantly borrowed money from everyone, especially the Prince of Wales. When the regency crisis of —9 gave the Whigs an opportunity to return to power, Georgiana was once again busy with party politics.
Her diary of the intense squabbling and manoeuvring which took place remains the most quoted source material for the period. Georgiana jockeyed with Sheridan to advise the Prince; she also acted as a party whip, cajoling and pressing party members to remain loyal to Fox. Georgiana's attempts to maintain party morale and win public support for the Whigs were blocked by Jane, duchess of Gordon, who was employed by William Pitt to counterbalance the weight of Devonshire House.
However, it was Georgiana who received the most blame for dividing society down party lines. As soon as it was practical to do so, the Devonshires and Bess went abroad to France to escape the atmosphere of blame and resentment at home.
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