by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2020
Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham was the last mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, from 1820 until the King died in 1830.
Elizabeth Denison was born on July 31, 1769, the eldest child of Joseph Denison, a wealthy banker, and his wife Elizabeth Butler. She had two younger siblings:
- William Joseph Denison (1770) – unmarried
- Anna Maria Denison (c.1771) -married Sir Robert Wenlock
On July 5, 1794 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Covent Garden, London, Elizabeth married Henry Burton Conyngham, Viscount Conyngham (later the 1st Marquess Conyngham). Viscount Conyngham was created Earl Conyngham and Viscount Mount Charles in the Irish peerage in 1797. In 1800, he was one of the original Irish representative peers to sit in the British House of Lords and was installed in the Order of St. Patrick in 1801. He served as Governor of County Donegal from 1803 until 1831, and in 1816 was created Marquess of Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles, and Viscount Slane in the Irish peerage. In 1821, he was created Baron Minster of Minster Abbey in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, became a member of the Privy Council and was appointed Lord Steward. In 1829, he was named Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle and served until he died in 1832. Elizabeth and her husband had five children:
- Lady Maria Conyngham (1794) – married William Somerville, 1st Baron Meredyth, had issue
- Henry Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles (1795) – unmarried
- Sir Frances Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham (1797) – married Lady Janet Paget, had issue. He served as Lord Chamberlain to King William IV, and upon delivering the news of the King’s death to the new Queen Victoria in 1837, was the first person to address her as Your Majesty. His daughter Jane later became the longest-serving member of Queen Victoria’s household, serving as a Lady of the Bedchamber from 1854 until 1900.
- Lord Albert Conyngham, 1st Baron Londesborough (1805) – married (1) Henrietta Weld-Forester, had issue; (2) Ursula Bridgeman, had issue. In 1849, he took the surname Denison as one of the conditions of inheriting the estate of his childless maternal uncle.
- Lady Elizabeth Conyngham (1811) – married Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly, no issue
According to the Duke of Wellington (to whom Elizabeth had become mistress in 1817), Elizabeth had expressed the desire to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales as early as 1806. Through the Duke of Wellington, she was introduced to the British court and caught the attention of the future King. By 1820, she had become his primary mistress, having replaced her friend, the Marchioness of Hertford. The aging king was besotted with Elizabeth, going so far as to ensure she was nearby at his coronation, reportedly winking and smiling at her during most of the ceremony. Quickly Elizabeth began to hold great influence over the new King, however, she avoided political matters, instead, she focused on the personal and financial gain of herself and her family. Her husband benefited greatly from the relationship – he was elevated to Marquess and received several positions within the royal household. One of her sons was made a Groom of the Bedchamber and Master of the Robes to the King, and of course, Elizabeth herself received lavish and expensive gifts as well, including some priceless jewelry from the royal vaults.
King George IV provided housing for Elizabeth and her family at Windsor Castle and the Brighton Pavilion. He ensured they traveled with him when he moved from one residence to another. Elisabeth was given full use of the King’s horses and carriages, and most of the large dinners held at her London townhouse were prepared in the kitchens of St. James’s Palace. To King George IV, nothing was ‘off limits’ for his beloved Elizabeth. Such was the King’s devotion to her that he bequeathed her all his plate and jewels although she refused them when he died.
However, it would all end on the morning of June 26, 1830, when King George IV died at Windsor Castle. By the following day, Elizabeth had packed her belongings and left Windsor for her brother’s home before traveling to Paris, reportedly expelled from the country by the new King William IV.
Widowed in 1832, Elizabeth remained in Paris until the death of William IV in 1837. She returned to the family’s Bifrons estate in the village of Patrixbourne, near Canterbury, where she lived the remainder of her life. The Dowager Marchioness Conyngham died at Bifrons on October 11, 1861, at the age of 92, having survived all but one of her children. She is buried alongside her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Patrixbourne.
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