Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Her Grace

The Duchess of Devonshire
Her Grace; The Duchess of Devonshire
	Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough; (18th century)
Born	Georgiana Spencer; 7 June 1757; Althorp, Northamptonshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	30 March 1806 (aged 48); Devonshire House, Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Buried	Derby Cathedral, Derbyshire
Noble family	Spencer (by birth); Cavendish (by marriage)
Spouse(s)	William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (m. 1774)
Issue	Georgiana Howard, Countess of Carlisle; Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville; William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire; Eliza Courtney (illegitimate);
Father	John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer
Mother	Margaret Georgiana Poyntz
Occupation	Socialite; author; activist;

Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (née Spencer; /dʒɔːrˈdʒeɪnə/ jor-JAY-nə; 7 June 1757 – 30 March 1806), was an English aristocrat, socialite, political organiser, author, and activist. Born into the Spencer family, married into the Cavendish family, she was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and the mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire.

The Duchess was famous for her charisma, political influence, beauty, unusual marital arrangement, love affairs, socializing, and notoriety for her gambling addiction, leading to an immense debt. She was the great-great-great-grandaunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Their lives, centuries apart, have been compared in tragedy.

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