Isabella Bennet FitzRoy, 2nd Countess of Arlington and Duchess of Grafton (c. 1668–7 February 1723) was a British peeress

Peerage

The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...

 and heiress.

Family and marriage

Isabella was the daughter of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington KG, PC was an English statesman.- Background and early life :He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, and of Dorothy Crofts. He was the younger brother of John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston; his sister was Elizabeth Bennet who married Robert Kerr,...

, a Royalist commander, by his wife Isabella de Nassau (1633–1718). (Her mother was a granddaughter of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange from 1618, on the death of his eldest half brother, Philip William, Prince of Orange,...

 and thus a great-granddaughter of William the Silent

William the Silent

William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

.)

Henry was created Baron Arlington

Baron Arlington

Baron Arlington is a title in the Peerage of England. In 1664, it was created for Sir Henry Bennet, younger brother of John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston, with a special remainder allowing it to descend to male and female heirs, rather than only male heirs, as was customary with most peerages...

 for his loyalty to the crown; this closeness was further emphasised when he had his four-year-old daughter Isabella married to Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton KG was the illegitimate son of King Charles II by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine....

 (later created Duke of Grafton

Duke of Grafton

Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for his 2nd illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland, Henry FitzRoy...

), the nine-year-old illegitimate son of King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. Lord Arlington was later further raised in the peerage to the titles of Earl of Arlington and Viscount Thetford, all of which were created with special remainder to allow women to inherit.
They lived at Euston Hall

Euston Hall

Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown located in Euston, small village located just south of Thetford in Suffolk, England. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton....

.

Isabella and her husband had one son, Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton KG PC was an Irish and English politician.He was born the only child of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton and Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington...

, who succeeded both his parents as 2nd Duke of Grafton and 3rd Earl of Arlington. After her first husband's death in 1690 the Duchess of Grafton remarried on 14 October 1698 to Sir Thomas Hanmer

Thomas Hanmer

Thomas Hanmer may refer to:*Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet , Member of Parliament for Flint 1640 and Flintshire 1669–1678*Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet , 4th baronet of Hanmer and Speaker of the House of Commons, MP for Flint 1701–1702, Flintshire 1702–1705, Thetford 1705–1708, Suffolk 1708–1727*...

.

Titles and styles

On the death of her father in 1685, Isabella succeeded to his titles suo jure

Suo jure

Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....

.

• 1668–22 April 1672: The Hon. Isabella Bennet
• 22 April 1672–1 August 1672: Lady
  Lady
  The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman...
  
   Isabella Bennet
• 1 August 1672–1675: The Rt. Hon. The Countess of Euston
• 1675–7 February 1723: Her Grace The Duchess of Grafton
  • 28 July 1685–: The Countess of Arlington (suo jure
    Suo jure
    Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
    
    )

Other

Isabella is one of the Hampton Court Beauties

Hampton Court Beauties

The Hampton Court Beauties are a series of portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller, commissioned by Queen Mary II of England depicting the most glamorous ladies from the court of William III. They adorn the state rooms of King William III at Hampton Court Palace...

 painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Godfrey Kneller

Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to British monarchs from Charles II to George I...

 for Queen Mary II

Mary II of England

Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...

.

Isabella walked at the coronation

Coronation of the British monarch

The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...

 of Queen Anne.

External links

• "Isabella Fitzroy (née Bennet), Duchess of Grafton ", FitzWilliam Museum
• "Isabella Fitzroy (née Bennet), Duchess of Grafton", National Protrait Gallery