Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington

For the character, see Charlotte Cavendish (Lovejoy).

The Right Honourable The Baroness Clifford
Portrait, possibly by George Knapton, c. 1748
Personal details
Born	Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle (1731-10-27)27 October 1731
Died	8 December 1754(1754-12-08) (aged 23) Uppingham, Rutland
Resting place	Derby Cathedral
Spouse	William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington ​ ​ (m. 1748)​
Children	William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Lord Richard Cavendish George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington
Parent(s)	Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Lady Dorothy Savile

Charlotte Elizabeth Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, 6th Baroness Clifford (born Lady Charlotte Boyle; 27 October 1731 – 8 December 1754) was the daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and Lady Dorothy Savile. From 1748 until her death, she was married to William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, later the 4th Duke of Devonshire and Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Family and early life

Dorothy Savile, Lady Dorothy Boyle (1724–1742), Countess of Euston, and Her Sister Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731–1754), Later Marchioness of Hartington, National Trust, Hardwick Hall. Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation.

Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle was the only surviving daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and Lady Dorothy Savile. Her mother was the daughter of William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax and Lady Mary Finch, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham

Personal life

On 28 March 1748, she married William Cavendish, then the Marquess of Hartington, who later became the 4th Duke of Devonshire and the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The advantageous union had been arranged since childhood and was happy. The marriage helped him rise politically. They had four children: William, Dorothy, Richard, and George.

Baroness Clifford of Londesborough

Charlotte inherited great wealth upon the death of her father in 1754. As the heir of her father, she succeeded to the title of Baroness Clifford of Londesborough suo jure. Through her marriage, the Cavendish family, with the main title of Duke of Devonshire, inherited the 3rd Earl of Burlington's estates (the title went to the Orrery Boyles). These estates included: Burlington House, Piccadilly, London (now the Royal Academy of Arts); Chiswick House, London; Londesborough Hall, Yorkshire; Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire; Lismore Castle, County Waterford, Ireland. Charlotte was her father's sole remaining heir.

The Marchioness of Hartington died on 8 December 1754 at Uppingham, Rutland from smallpox. The next year her husband William succeeded his father as Duke of Devonshire.

Issue

Charlotte and her husband William had four children:

• William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (14 December 1748 – 29 July 1811)
• Lady Dorothy Cavendish (27 August 1750 – 3 June 1794), married William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.
• Lord Richard Cavendish (19 June 1752 – 7 September 1781)
• George Augustus Henry Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington (31 March 1754 – 4 May 1834)

Ancestors

Ancestors of Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan Lady Elizabeth Clifford Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset Lady Jane Seymour Lady Frances Devereux Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden The Hon. Henry Noel Hester Wotton Juliana Noel Sir William Wale Elizabeth Wale Charlotte Boyle, 6th Baroness Clifford Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax The Hon. Anne Coventry William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland Lady Dorothy Spencer Lady Dorothy Sidney Lady Dorothy Savile Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea Elizabeth Harvey Lady Mary Finch Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick Lady Essex Rich Anne Cheeke

References

Works cited

• Schweizer, Karl Wolfgang (2004). "Cavendish, William, fourth duke of Devonshire (bap. 1720, d. 1764)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4949. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)