caption death_date death_place children birth_place parents birth_date spouse image article_title name
1793 portrait by angelica kauffman 11 november 1821 florence '' of bessborough '' ' 2 '' ' sir frederick cavendish ' '' ' 3 '' ' lady caroline lamb '' ' 1 4 '' ' william , 1st baron de mauley '' '' ' 5 '' ' george stewart '' ' 6 '' ' ' harriet godolphin osborne , duchess of leeds john , 4th earl wimbledon , london john spencer , 1st earl spencer margaret georgiana poyntz 16 june 1761 frederick ponsonby , 3rd earl of bessborough angelica bessborough -lrb- 1793 -rrb- . jpg kauffmann , portrait of henrietta , countess of henrietta ponsonby , countess of bessborough
 the countess of bessborough
henrietta ponsonby , countess of bessborough

henrietta ponsonby , countess of bessborough -lrb- 16 june 1761 -- 11 november 1821 -rrb- , born lady henrietta frances spencer -lrb- generally called harriet -rrb- , was the wife of frederick ponsonby , 3rd earl of bessborough and mother of the notorious lady caroline lamb .
her father , john spencer , 1st earl spencer , was a great-grandson of john churchill , 1st duke of marlborough .
her sister was georgiana cavendish , duchess of devonshire .
being the youngest child , harriet was often left in england when her parents and older sister georgiana would visit the continent for her father 's health .
as a child , harriet was frail and sickly , which led her mother to send her abroad for schooling , thinking that foreign air would help strengthen her .
she grew into a young woman of exceptional beauty and intelligence , witty , well-read and self-assured .
on 27 november 1780 , harriet married frederick ponsonby , viscount duncannon , later 3rd earl of bessborough .
their marriage was a difficult one ; since harriet and her husband were avid gamblers , they often found themselves in debt .
frederick was also known to be abusive of harriet , often humiliating her at public gatherings , as well as demanding that she find money to pay for the debts he had incurred .
in 1790 , her husband began divorce proceedings but , under intense pressure from both families , agreed to drop them .
their marriage produced four children : john william , later 4th earl of bessborough ; frederick ponsonby ; caroline ponsonby , more commonly known by her married name as lady caroline lamb ; and william ponsonby , who became the 1st baron de mauley .
harriet had numerous lovers during her marriage ; as she once remarked `` i can never love `` a little '' '' .
among her more notable lovers were richard brinsley sheridan , the playwright and whig politician , and granville leveson-gower , 1st earl granville , who became her most enduring lover .
her affair with granville produced two illegitimate children : harriet emma arundel stewart , wife of george godolphin osborne , 8th duke of leeds -lrb- though she died in 1852 before he succeeded to the title -rrb- and george stewart , yet somehow harriet managed to hide her pregnancies from her husband .
granville would later on marry harriet 's niece , lady harriet cavendish -lrb- ` harryo ' -rrb- .
as harriet sadly remarked , for seventeen years she had `` loved to idolatry '' the man who she came to believe loved her least of all the men in her life .
of her younger admirers her favourite was william lamb , 2nd viscount melbourne , who then fell in love with her daughter caroline ; although harriet was anxious for caroline to marry early , she had misgivings -lrb- entirely justified in the event -rrb- as to whether william and caroline were well suited ; but in the event she gave her consent to their marriage willingly enough .
sheridan 's feelings for her became an obsession , and he distressed her greatly , just before his death , by saying that he hoped his ghost would haunt her ; she asked if he had not done enough through his life to make her unhappy ?
harriet often accompanied her sister to political events as well as soirees .
she was also very close to georgiana 's best friend , lady elizabeth foster , with whom she often was seen in public .
harriet died on 11 november 1821 in florence , italy following the death of her youngest grandchild , henry , in parma .
according to lord david cecil , she died peacefully and without regret , worn out by a life of emotional turmoil .
cecil describes her as a woman of `` indescribable distinction '' .
