page_title: Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton
section_title: Marriages
hierarchical_section_title: Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton / Marriages
caption_attribution_description: Arms of Rolle: Or, on a fesse dancette between three billets azure each charged with a lion rampant of the first three bezants
context_page_description: Margaret Rolle, 15th Baroness Clinton suo jure, was a wealthy aristocratic Devonshire heiress, known both for eccentricity and her extramarital affairs.
  By her first husband Robert, 1st Baron Walpole, later 2nd Earl of Orford and eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole, she gave birth to a legitimate heir, George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, who succeeded her in the title of Baron Clinton.
context_section_description: Margaret Rolle married twice:
  Firstly, in 1724, as a wealthy 15-year-old heiress, to 23-year-old Robert Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, later 2nd Earl of Orford (1701–1751), eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole, of Houghton Hall, Norfolk (1676–1745), and the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. After the birth of their son she "made it a point ... not to let her husband lie with her and at last stipulated for only twice a week", as reported by Horace Walpole. The marriage was not a success, with her quarrelling violently with his entire family. They lived apart (her later obtaining a legal separation) after the birth of their son and heir:
  George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, 16th Baron Clinton (1730–1791), a celebrated falconer, who had no legitimate children and died insane.
  Secondly, in 1751, to Hon Sewallis Shirley, MP, 14th son of Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers. Having previously been his mistress, they lived together in England for a while, and she sponsored his election as MP for Callington in 1754. But this marriage likewise ended in separation, and she returned to Florence in 1755, where she formed a liaison with the Count of Richecourt. Later Shirley became Comptroller of Queen Charlotte's Household.
caption: Arms of Rolle: Or, on a fesse dancettée between three billets azure each charged with a lion rampant of the first three bezants
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