The Duke of Dorset Writes to Georgiana

News from France!

In April of 1786 the Duke wrote to Georgiana to fill her in on the latest gossip. "The little Po [the duchesse de Polignac] is preparing to set out..." for her awaited visit to Georgiana. He reported that "poor Mrs. B" [Marie Antoinette] was in true despair about the loss of her friend and green with envy about not being able to join the happy party in England. In fact, he said, it seemed as if a whole "colony" was going to London. Even the Queen's other favourite, the princesse de Lamballe had requested leave to Brighthelmstone, but the Duke was doubtful whether Antoinette would be willing to part with her. "Mrs. B told her she would think about it before she mentioned her wishes to the King, and yesterday she sent me (Mrs. B) to desire to see me on Saturday morning so I am afraid [her voyage depends upon my advice], which I am sorry for, as I cannot judge the propriety or impropriety of her being in a place with the P. of W. and Mrs. F..." It would appear the antics of the Prince were about to ruin the Princesse's planned holiday!

Mrs Rat and her Friends

Nicknames were prevalent in the age of letters. In fact, whole new dialects seem to be created by the aristocracy, such as the "Cavendish drawl" which the Devonshire House circle spoke in. each member of the circle seemed to have a nickname. Although some origins are obvious, others are quite perplexing. These nicknames were the usual form of address in casual letters, although we cannot be so sure how often they were used vocally.













Duchess of Devonshire Mrs. Rat













Duke of Devonshire Canis, due to his affection for dogs.












Lady Bess Foster Racky













Duchess de Polignac Little Po













Marie Antoinette, Mrs. B[rown], Louis was, of course, Mr. B












Richard Brinsley Sheridan Argus












Charles James Fox The Eyebrow, due to his enormous eyebrows











Lady Jersey The Infernal












Duke of Richmond Goodwin












Prince of Wales Prinny










Charles, Earl Grey Black












Duke of Dorset Pride









Frederick, Viscount Duncannon (Harriet's husband) Harum, due to his love of pranks

Bess had her own unique nickname with the Spencers: the Chief Councellor.

Happy Bastille Day!

What a funny holiday! Well, not funny but peculiar. It is more symbolic of the start of the French Revolution than the actual storming of the Bastille which resulted in freeing mostly old men and pedophiles. Vive le France! My sick sense of humor aside, the storming was a frightening event. An event that Georgiana just narrowly missed being a part of.

The Devonshire clan had been visiting in Paris but on July 8, 1789 the Duke of Devonshire had tired of the city and decided they should move on. Before they left, Georgiana paid a visit to Versailles to say goodbye to two of her dearest friends, the Duchesse de Polignac and Marie Antoinette. Tensions were high in France but none of the women expected that these could be their final goodbyes to each other.

The party was in Brussels on July 14th when they received word of the storming of the Bastille and the horrors of the riots. Georgiana recorded that the Duke weeped in fear that his daughter Charlotte (from his mistress Charlotte Spencer) who was living in Paris would be harmed in the frightening events. Charlotte wasn't the only bastard of his he feared for in Paris, his daughter with Bess, Caroline St. Jules was also there. By July 18th, Georgiana's friend James Hare had written that Charlotte was safe and gave her a full account of the horrors he was seeing in Paris.

Although the Whig party was supportive of the French Revolution, being so close to it frightened Georgiana even as an "Englishwoman." Her premonition proved accurate when the mob soon turned on anything British due to Marie Antoinette's anglophilic tendencies. The British embassy was one of these victims. Georgiana was safe but she feared for her French friends, especially Marie Antoinette, who insisted her friends escape while she stayed behind to face her people.