Henrietta Howard (1688-1767), nee Hobart, latterly Countess of Suffolk was likely a very resourceful lady. After some very lean years, she and her husband were fortunate enough to make themselves 'extremely acceptable' to Princess Sophia in Hanover. The Princess was the mother of George I and in his household Henrietta returned with her husband to England in 1714 on George's accession. She became a Woman of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales. Her husband, who was Groom of the Bedchamber to the King, disowned their marriage when the King and the Prince of Wales fell out and she moved with the Prince's household to Richmond Lodge. A Lord Hervey records that after about 1720 the Prince began to spend 'every evening of his life, three or four hours in Mrs Howard's lodging.' However it was said that he seemed 'to look upon a mistress rather as a necessary appurtenance to his grandeur as a Prince than an addition to his pleasure as a man'. In 1723 George made a settlement on her of £11,500 worth of stock as well as jewellery and furniture and furnishings. Lord Ilay a trustee of the settlement had acquired Whitton Place for himself about a mile from Twickenham. He selected and bought in his own name 11.5 acres in March 1724 in a shot called Marble Hill in Twickenham East Field as the site for her villa. The estate was subsequently extended to 66.5 acres. Henrietta also involved a Lord Herbert who was responsible for the building with a pure palladian taste. Lady Suffolk, as Mrs Howard became in 1731 because her estranged husband had succeeded to the title, died here on 26th July 1767. Her then great friend Horace Walpole had been visiting from his home at Strawberry Hill for two hours the day before.

O/S Co-ords:1727.7364
Source(s):

Rural Walks around Richmond

A twice widowed catholic, she was clandestinely married in 1785 to the Prince of Wales, later George IV. The marriage had no legality in English law because of her religion. She lived briefly here at Marble Hill House when he wed Princess Caroline in 1795.

O/S Co-ords:1730.7360
Source(s):

Twickenham Past