Lady Mary Coke
Encyclopedia
Lady Mary Coke was an English letter writer and noblewoman.
(1680–1743), and his second wife, Jane (c.1683–1767), a maid of honour to Queen Anne
and Caroline, Princess of Wales
, and grew up in Sudbrook or in London, visiting her father's ancestral estate at Inveraray
in Argyll at least once and possibly more often.
She married on 1 April 1747, Edward Coke, Viscount Coke
(1719–1753; though she never used the title Viscountess), son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester
. Their courtship had been strained, and in retaliation Edward left her alone on their wedding night and from then on virtually imprisoned her at his family estate at Holkham Hall
, Norfolk, only for her to react by refusing him his marital rights
. Their families went to litigation, and eventually produced a settlement in 1750 whereby she could live with her mother at Sudbrook but had to remain married to Edward until his death, which came in 1753, when Mary was 26. Already having received a handsome legacy from her father, she set out on her life of independence (she never remarried), that became (as her DNB entry puts it) "marked by gossip, travel, devotion to royalty, and self-imposed misadventure".
and was warmly welcomed at the Viennese
court, only to kill off this friendship on her third visit in 1773 by interfering in court intrigue. Mary, however, did not see that this predicament had been self-inflicted and from then on saw any disaster - servants' incompetence, unsuccessful auction bids, rheumatism - as part of a Maria-instigated plot pursuing her across Europe. Emily Barry (née Stanhope, Countess of Barrymore
, and wife of the 6th Earl) was even accused by Mary of luring away her previously faithful servant whilst she was in Paris in 1775, in order to aid an alleged assassination plot against her by Maria's daughter Marie Antoinette
and her underlings.
in 1765 was dedicated to her), he also could see that her lack of a sense of humour and pride in her own self-importance made most of her misfortunes self-inflicted. He called her and two of her sisters (Caroline Townshend, Baroness Greenwich, and Lady Betty Mackenzie) the three furies, and wrote elsewhere:
's attempt to assassinate George III in 1786 and Maria Fitzherbert's rumoured marriage to George, Prince of Wales. Some of her observations, however, were more accurate, for example her praise of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire's political skill, in 1787: "As soon as ever any young man comes from abroad he is immediately invited to Devonshire House
and to Chatsworth
—and by that means he is to be of the [Whig] opposition". She avidly collected political information, deploying it to protect herself, her friends and her family, and passing it on to her sisters in her journal, and was a frequent visitor to the Houses of Commons and Lords, witnessing political controversies like Warren Hastings
's trial and the debate over the Cumberland election petition in 1768 (in which she backed Sir James Lowther).
had built it late in the 17th century and it had been little altered since. She was buried in Westminster Abbey
in her father's family vault on 11 October 1811.
, in 1741. Her DNB entry states:
"The journal ranges from banal descriptions of card games and weather to perceptive social observation and expressions of sincere affection, often closely and unselfconsciously juxtaposed. The personality which emerges from the whole combines elements of the mundane and the preposterous with the deeply sympathetic."
She began writing it in August 1766 and stopped making regular additions in January 1791, when Anne's husband died, though the printed edition only includes entries up to December 1774. (Her great-great-great-nephew James Archibald Home edited this edition.) After 1791, Lady Mary did still continue to pass on her opinions known to friends and relatives such as her niece Lady Frances Scott (her sister Caroline's daughter by her first marriage to Francis, earl of Dalkeith) and her first cousin once removed Lady Louisa Stuart
. Louisa in 1827 wrote an acerbic memoir of Lady Mary which is another major source for her life.
Marriage and separation
She was the fifth and youngest daughter of the soldier and politician John Campbell, 2nd Duke of ArgyllJohn Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
(1680–1743), and his second wife, Jane (c.1683–1767), a maid of honour to Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
and Caroline, Princess of Wales
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
, and grew up in Sudbrook or in London, visiting her father's ancestral estate at Inveraray
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
in Argyll at least once and possibly more often.
She married on 1 April 1747, Edward Coke, Viscount Coke
Edward Coke, Viscount Coke
Edward Coke, Viscount Coke , styled The Hon. Edward Coke from 1728 to 1744, was a British Member of Parliament....
(1719–1753; though she never used the title Viscountess), son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, KB was a wealthy English land-owner and patron of the arts. He is particularly noted for commissioning the design and construction of Holkham Hall in north Norfolk. Between 1722 and 1728, he was Member of Parliament for Norfolk.He was the son of Edward Coke ...
. Their courtship had been strained, and in retaliation Edward left her alone on their wedding night and from then on virtually imprisoned her at his family estate at Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
, Norfolk, only for her to react by refusing him his marital rights
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. Their families went to litigation, and eventually produced a settlement in 1750 whereby she could live with her mother at Sudbrook but had to remain married to Edward until his death, which came in 1753, when Mary was 26. Already having received a handsome legacy from her father, she set out on her life of independence (she never remarried), that became (as her DNB entry puts it) "marked by gossip, travel, devotion to royalty, and self-imposed misadventure".
Royal romance?
In her grandiose shows of grief on the death of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany in 1767, Lady Mary alleged in veiled hints that they had been secretly married, a claim that brought her further derision. He had been a subject of an intensely emotional and lengthy flirtation, which she alleged had been passionate on both sides, but according to most accounts the relationship had actually been one-sided, with York (12 years her junior) regarding it and her as a joke.Trips to Europe
On her first trip to Europe in 1770–71 she became a friend of Maria Theresa of AustriaMaria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
and was warmly welcomed at the Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
court, only to kill off this friendship on her third visit in 1773 by interfering in court intrigue. Mary, however, did not see that this predicament had been self-inflicted and from then on saw any disaster - servants' incompetence, unsuccessful auction bids, rheumatism - as part of a Maria-instigated plot pursuing her across Europe. Emily Barry (née Stanhope, Countess of Barrymore
Earl of Barrymore
Earl of Barrymore is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created for David Barry in 1627/28. Lord Barrymore held the subsidiary titles of Baron Barry , and Viscount Buttevant in the County of Cork in Ireland...
, and wife of the 6th Earl) was even accused by Mary of luring away her previously faithful servant whilst she was in Paris in 1775, in order to aid an alleged assassination plot against her by Maria's daughter Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and her underlings.
Walpole
It was the 1775 event which finally drove away another of Mary's close friends, Horace Walpole. Though devoted and mock-gallant in his flattery of her (his The Castle of OtrantoThe Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. It is generally regarded as the first gothic novel, initiating a literary genre which would become extremely popular in the later 18th century and early 19th century...
in 1765 was dedicated to her), he also could see that her lack of a sense of humour and pride in her own self-importance made most of her misfortunes self-inflicted. He called her and two of her sisters (Caroline Townshend, Baroness Greenwich, and Lady Betty Mackenzie) the three furies, and wrote elsewhere:
She was much a friend of mine, but a later marriage, which she particularly disapproved, having flattered herself with the hopes of one just a step higher, has a little cooled our friendship. In short, though she is so greatly born, she has a frenzy for royalty, and will fall in love with and at the feet of the Great Duke and Duchess, especially the former, for next to being an empress herself, she adores the Empress Queen, or did—for perhaps that passion not being quite reciprocal, may have waned. However … Lady Mary has a thousand virtues and good qualities: she is noble, generous, high-spirited, undauntable, is most friendly, sincere, affectionate, and above any mean action. She loves attention, and I wish you to pay it even for my sake, for I would do anything to serve her. I have often tried to laugh her out of her weakness, but as she is very serious, she is so in that, and if all the sovereigns in Europe combined to slight her, she still would put her trust in the next generation of princes. Her heart is excellent, and deserves and would become a crown, and that is the best of all excuses for desiring one.
Political observer
She even saw evidence of a conspiracy (this time a Catholic one against the Protestant succession) in Margaret NicholsonMargaret Nicholson
Margaret Nicholson was an Englishwoman who assaulted King George III. Her futile and somewhat half-hearted attempt on the King's life became famous and was featured in one of Shelley's first works: Posthumous Fragments of Margaret Nicholson, published in 1810.-Life:Nicholson was born in...
's attempt to assassinate George III in 1786 and Maria Fitzherbert's rumoured marriage to George, Prince of Wales. Some of her observations, however, were more accurate, for example her praise of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire's political skill, in 1787: "As soon as ever any young man comes from abroad he is immediately invited to Devonshire House
Devonshire House
Devonshire House in Piccadilly was the London residence of the Dukes of Devonshire in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was built for William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent...
and to Chatsworth
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
—and by that means he is to be of the [Whig] opposition". She avidly collected political information, deploying it to protect herself, her friends and her family, and passing it on to her sisters in her journal, and was a frequent visitor to the Houses of Commons and Lords, witnessing political controversies like Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
's trial and the debate over the Cumberland election petition in 1768 (in which she backed Sir James Lowther).
Death
She bought Morton House, Chiswick four years before her death there, liking the fact that Sir Stephen FoxStephen Fox
Sir Stephen Fox was an English politician.-Life:Stephen Fox was the son of William Fox, of Farley, in Wiltshire, a yeoman farmer...
had built it late in the 17th century and it had been little altered since. She was buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in her father's family vault on 11 October 1811.
Journal
Lady Mary is mainly known from her own journal, never intended for publication and instead written for self-amusement and for the amusement of her sisters, most especially Anne (1719/20–1785), who had married William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of StraffordWilliam Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722-1791)
William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford , styled Viscount Wentworth until 1739 was a peer and member of the House of Lords of Great Britain.-Ancestry and career:...
, in 1741. Her DNB entry states:
"The journal ranges from banal descriptions of card games and weather to perceptive social observation and expressions of sincere affection, often closely and unselfconsciously juxtaposed. The personality which emerges from the whole combines elements of the mundane and the preposterous with the deeply sympathetic."
She began writing it in August 1766 and stopped making regular additions in January 1791, when Anne's husband died, though the printed edition only includes entries up to December 1774. (Her great-great-great-nephew James Archibald Home edited this edition.) After 1791, Lady Mary did still continue to pass on her opinions known to friends and relatives such as her niece Lady Frances Scott (her sister Caroline's daughter by her first marriage to Francis, earl of Dalkeith) and her first cousin once removed Lady Louisa Stuart
Lady Louisa Stuart
Lady Louisa Stuart was a British writer of the 18th and 19th centuries. Her long life spanned nearly ninety-four years.-Early life:...
. Louisa in 1827 wrote an acerbic memoir of Lady Mary which is another major source for her life.