Henrietta Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville (known to her family as Harriet or Hary-O) was the daughter of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and his first wife Georgiana Spencer. She was devoted to her mother, although much of her upbringing was shaped by her pious tutor, Selina Trimmer.
Harriet grew up in a household that, alongside her siblings, included the illegitimate son and daughter of the Duke and his mistress Lady Elizabeth Foster, as well as Lady Elizabeth herself.
Upon the death of her mother in 1806, Harriet’s position became uncertain; as the unmarried daughter of the family, she was usurped as the rightful controller of the household by her father’s mistress. Her aunt Henrietta, Countess of Bessborough, appears to have stepped in to help secure her niece’s position, putting forward her own lover, Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, as a suitor. This may have been to aid his political career or was simply a way of keeping him in the family circle after recognising that he needed to marry.
Despite this unusual start, the marriage was a very happy one. Leveson-Gowers’s career flourished, leading to his appointment as Ambassador to France three times. With considerable experience as a society hostess in England, Harriet took on the role of ambassador’s wife, hosting numerous balls and receptions and eventually becoming very popular in Parisian society. Her husband was granted an earldom in 1833 for his service to the government, giving Harriet the title Countess Granville.
After Granville’s death in 1846, Harriet entered a period of intense grief, retiring from society and dedicating her time to philanthropy. She spent much of her time at Chiswick House, which she inherited in 1858 upon the death of her brother, the 6th Duke. She died in London in 1862.
Throughout her life, Harriet was a prolific letter writer. She wrote to her sister Georgiana almost daily from 1801 to her sister’s death in 1858, and her witty, detailed letters capture much of 19th-century aristocratic society. Four edited collections of her letters have since been published and some of her correspondence is held in the archives at Chatsworth.
