Leaders of Society

Lord Alvanley (1789 – 1849)

Regarded by some as the wittiest man of his day and a dandy to rival Brummell, William Arden, the 2nd Baron Alvanley was a popuar...

Beau Brummell (1778-1840)

George Bryan Brummell, known as the Beau, was the most important arbiter of fashion during the Regency. He rose to the highest levels of...

Lady Castlereagh (1772 – 1829)

Amelia (known as Emily) Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh, was another of the lady patronesses of Almack’s. She was the daughter of the Earl of Buckinghamshire...

Emily, Lady Cowper (1787 – 1869)

Emily was the daughter of the infamous Lady Melbourne, whose many affairs clouded the paternity of many of her children, including Emily. Her eldest...

Mrs. Drummond-Burrell (1786 – 1865)

Clementina Drummond Clementina was the daughter and heiress of James Drummond, 1st Baron Perth. She married Peter Robert  Burrell, a great dandy of the...

Princess Esterhazy (1794 – 1874)

Princess Esterhazy was born Princess Theresa of Thurn and Taxis and married Prince Paul III Anton  Esterhazy, the Austrian Ambassador to England. Princess Lieven...

Emma Hamilton (1765 – 1815)

Born Amy Lyons, the daughter of a blacksmith, she later changed her name to Emma Hart when she entered the world of prostitution in...

Lady Jersey (1786 – 1867)

Lady Sarah Sophia Fane, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland, married the 5th Earl of Jersey and became a leader of London society as...

Caroline Lamb (1785 – 1828)

Lady Caroline Ponsonby was the daughter of the Earl (and the notorious Countess) of Bessborough, and grew up in the household of her equally...

Countess Lieven (1785 – 1857)

Born in Latvia, Dorothea Benckendorff married Count Lieven, who was the Russian ambassador to England from 1812 to 1834. The countess immediately became a...

Lady Sefton (1769 – 1851)

Maria Molyneux, Lady Sefton, was born Maria Margaret Craven, daughter of William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, and Lady Elizabeth Berkley. She married William Phillip...

Harriet Wilson (1786 – 1846)

An infamous courtesan who took London by storm with her sisters Amy and Sophia, Harriet was the daughter of a humble Swiss clock maker....

 

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