Mary Stewart, Duchess of Richmond
| Her Grace The Duchess of Richmond and Lennox | |
|---|---|
 Mary, Duchess of Richmond, with her children, Esmé and Mary, by John Michael Wright. | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1622 |
| Died | 1685 (aged 62–63) |
| Spouse(s) |
Charles Herbert, Lord Herbert James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond Colonel Thomas Howard |
| Children |
Esmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of Richmond Mary Butler, Countess of Arran |
| Parents |
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham Katherine Manners, 19th Baroness de Ros |
Mary Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Duchess of Lennox (1622–1685), formerly Lady Mary Villiers, was the daughter of the George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Katherine Manners, 19th Baroness de Ros.
On 8 January 1634, at the age of 12, she married the 15-year-old Charles, Lord Herbert, eldest son of the 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, but was widowed in 1635 when her young husband died of smallpox.[1]
On 3 August 1637, she married the 4th Duke of Lennox, who was created Duke of Richmond in 1641. They had two children:
- Esmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of Richmond and 5th Duke of Lennox (2 November 1649–10 August 1660), died in infancy.
- Lady Mary Stewart (10 July 1651–4 July 1668), Baroness Clifton in 1660; married Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran. No issue.
Sometime before 1664, Mary married Colonel Thomas Howard (d. 1678): he was a younger brother of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, and is chiefly remembered for his duel in 1662 with Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover.
Maureen E. Mulvihill has built a case for Mary Villiers as the author of the poems published under the pseudonym Ephelia, including Female Poems...by Ephelia (1679).
Depiction in art
Mary is the subject of several paintings by Anthony van Dyck as well as a portrait with her children by John Michael Wright.
- Mary Stewart, Duchess of Richmond depiction in art
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George Villiers Duke of Buckingham and Family 1628 by Gerard van Honthorst
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Mary Villiers, later Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, with her cousin Charles Hamilton, Lord Arran, as Cupid, about 1636, by Anthony van Dyck.
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Mary Villiers, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox about 1640, Skokloster Castle
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Duchess of Lennox, after van Dyck, by Wenceslaus Hollar
References
- ↑ "Portrait of Mary Villiers Lady Herbert of Shurland (1622-1685) 1636". Philip Mould Historical Portraits.
- Royal Genealogy Database, University of Hull
- Gordenker, Emilie E.S.: Van Dyck and the Representation of Dress in Seventeenth-Century Portraiture, Brepols, 2001, ISBN 2-503-50880-4
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Villiers, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox. |
- "Thumbprints of Ephelia" by Maureen E. Mulvihill, Princeton Research Forum, in ReSoundings, with biography of Mary Villiers
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