page_title: Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston
section_title: Marriage to Palmerston
hierarchical_section_title: Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston / Marriage to Palmerston
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865)
context_page_description: Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston, was a leading figure of the Almack's social set, sister to Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, wife to the 5th Earl Cowper, and subsequently wife to another Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.
context_section_description: In 1837, Lord Cowper died, two days into the reign of Queen Victoria.  This left the way open for a marriage between Emily and Palmerston, though their age was a cause for concern, as, in the eyes of her family, was Palmerston's reputation as a womaniser.  The matter was referred to Queen Victoria, whose approval cleared the way for the marriage on 16 December 1839.  Palmerston was 55 at the time, and Lady Cowper was 52.
  They set up their home at Broadlands and the union was, by all accounts, a decidedly happy one.  Of it, Lord Shaftesbury said, "His attentions to Lady Palmerston, when they both of them were well stricken in years, were those of a perpetual courtship.  The sentiment was reciprocal; and I have frequently seen them go out on a morning to plant some trees, almost believing that they would live to eat the fruit, or sit together under the shade."
  During the marriage, Lady Palmerston continued an active social role as a salon hostess.  As the events were eagerly attended by foreign diplomats, Lord Palmerston would encourage his wife to float his ideas before the assembled guests and report back on their reception as a means of unofficially testing the diplomatic waters before committing himself publicly to an opinion. She could not cure his notorious lack of punctuality,  since this was a fault she shared to the full; Queen Victoria,  while staying with them at Broadlands,  complained that Emily had kept her waiting for an hour for a carriage ride. It was a standing joke in London society  that they were always so late for dinner that neither of them had ever heard of soup.
caption: Palmerston aged 18, by Thomas Heaphy.
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