View source for Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh

{{Short description|British noble; (1772–1829)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
[[File:WP Amelia Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry.jpg|thumb|Amelia Anne Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, painted by [[Thomas Lawrence]] after her marriage in 1794]]
'''Amelia Anne Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry''' ({{nee}} Hobart; 20 February 1772 – 12 February 1829), nicknamed "Emily" and, from 1794 until 1821 generally known as '''Lady Castlereagh''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|k|ɑː|s|əl|r|eɪ}}), was the wife of the [[Georgian era|Georgian-era]] Anglo-Irish statesman [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh]], who from 1812 to 1822 was British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] and [[Leader of the House of Commons]]. Well-connected by birth to the aristocracy and wife of a prominent politician who was Britain's leading diplomat during the close of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Lady Castlereagh was an influential member of [[Regency London]]'s [[upper class|high society]].

==Family==
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Lady Castlereagh was a daughter of [[John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire]] and his second wife, Caroline Conolly. The Earl of Buckinghamshire was an English [[courtier]] and politician who served as [[List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia|British Ambassador to Russia]] (1762–65) and [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]] (1776–80).

Her maternal grandfather, [[William James Conolly|William Conolly]], was the nephew and heir of [[William Conolly]], Speaker of the [[Irish House of Commons]] in the early 18th century and an extremely wealthy Irish landowner. Caroline's brother, [[Thomas Conolly (1738–1803)|Thomas Conolly]], a noted Irish sportsman and Lady Castlereagh's uncle, was married to [[Lady Louisa Conolly|Louisa Lennox]], daughter of [[Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond]], and one of the famous [[Lennox sisters]]. Caroline's mother, [[Anne Conolly|Anne Wentworth]], was a daughter of [[Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739)|Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford]] and Anne Johnson.

==Marriage ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2023}}
Amelia Anne Hobart, nicknamed "Emily", married Robert Stewart, son of the Irish politician and landowner [[Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry]], in 1794. Her husband used his [[courtesy title]], ''Viscount Castlereagh'', from 1796 until 1821, when he succeeded to the [[Marquess of Londonderry|marquessate]] on his father's death.

They were a notably devoted couple but had no children. They did, however, care for the young [[Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry|Frederick Stewart]] while his father, [[Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry|Charles]], Lord Castlereagh's half-brother, was serving in the [[British Army|army]].<ref name="Cowan">{{cite web|date=7 September 2006|title=The Cowan Inheritance|url=http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/lond_eo.htm|publisher=Public Records Office of Northern Ireland|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114195351/http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/lond_eo.htm|archivedate=14 November 2007|accessdate=6 July 2009}}</ref>

Her devotion to her husband, combined with her love of foreign travel, well equipped Emily for the life of a diplomat's wife, and she was noted for her willingness to accompany her husband abroad, no matter how rigorous the journey. In Ireland, however, her sympathies did not always align with those of her husband.

==Wife of the Chief Secretary for Ireland==
In the summer of 1798, when as [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]] her husband was contending with the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798|United Irish rebellion]], together with her sister Lady Elizabeth, then dying of [[tuberculosis]], Lady Emily pleaded for the life of the Reverend William Porter. Porter had canvassed for her husband in County Down when he had stood as a "friend of reform" for the [[Irish Parliaments 1692-1800|Irish Parliament]] in 1790, and had been a frequent visitor at [[Mount Stewart]]. However, he had strained relations with the Stewarts as the author of a popular and politically pointed satire of the County Down landed-interest ''Billy Bluff'', serialised in the United Irish paper, the [[Northern Star (newspaper of the Society of United Irishmen)|''Northern Star'']].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Billy Bluff and the Squire [1796] and Other Writing by Re. James Porter|publisher=Athol Books|year=1991|isbn=9780850340457|editor=Brendan Clifford|location=Belfast|pages=80}}</ref> In February 1798, he asked his Presbyterian congregation, next to Mount Stewart, then under armed guard, and with tenants withholding rent, why Ireland was at war. It was, he observed: "in consequence of our connection with England", and maintained that a French invasion threatened only the government and not the people. Together with uncertain evidence of consorting with the rebels, this was sufficient to have Porter condemned for treason.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Waters|first=Ormonde D. P.|date=1990|title=The Rev. James Porter Dissenting Minister of Greyabbey, 1753-1798|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29742440|journal=Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society|volume=14|issue=1|pages=(80–101) 96|doi=10.2307/29742440|jstor=29742440|issn=0488-0196|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In the presence of Porter's wife, Lady Emily wrote to [[Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet|General Nugent]] pleading for mercy. But discovered by her husband, she was obliged to add a postscript: "L [Londonderry] does not allow me to interfere in Mr Porter's case. I cannot, therefore, and beg not to be mentioned. I only send the letter to gratify the humour" (i.e. to placate Mrs Porter).<ref>Waters (1990), p. 95</ref> Porter was hung in front of his own church with, it was later claimed, Stewart tenants, by order, in attendance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Bew|first=John|title=Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny|publisher=Quercus|year=2011|isbn=9780857381866|location=London|pages=96–100, 107–108, 118}}</ref>

It is conceivable that she was influenced by her mother-in-law. [[Frances Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry|Lady Londonderry]], is reputed to have had a "strong but secret sympathy" for the United Irish cause evidenced in her friendship and correspondence with Jane Greg.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sekers|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKI7AwAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Greg,+Belfast,+1798&pg=PT89|title=A Lady of Cotton: Hannah Greg, Mistress of Quarry Bank Mill|date=2013-03-18|publisher=History Press|isbn=978-0-7524-9367-1}}</ref> As he suppressed the republican movement in Belfast and its hinterlands, General Lake had occasion to denounce Greg as "the most violent creature possible".<ref>PRONI, Pelham Manuscripts T755/5, Lake to Pelham, 9 June 1797</ref>

==Husband's suicide==
Although there is no doubt that she was concerned by her husband's deteriorating mental condition, which culminated in his suicide in August 1822, she may not have realised quite how serious the matter was. In a private audience on 9 August, Castlereagh had told the King that police officers were searching for him, that he was being "accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." [[Percy Jocelyn]], who had been defrocked the previous month, had been prosecuted for homosexuality. The King surmised that Castlereagh believed he was being blackmailed for the same reason, but also concluded he was unwell, and urged him to see a physician.<ref>Bew (2011), pp. 541-542</ref>

Meanwhile, Lady Emily was insisting, in public at least, that while he had been "unwell" her husband was expected to recover fully. During his last days, she was undoubtedly fully aware of his dangerous condition, but was forced to trust in the skill of their doctor, Charles Bankhead. Afterwards, she was blamed, perhaps unfairly, by many of his friends and political colleagues for concealing the serious nature of his mental illness: [[Lord Liverpool]], the [[Prime Minister of Great Britain|Prime Minister]], in particular accused her of deceiving him about the extent of the problem.<ref>Hyde, Montgomery ''The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh'' William Heinemann Ltd. London 1959</ref>

==Last years==
After her husband's death, Emily lived quietly in the country for almost two years. In 1824 she returned to her old social life, arousing the censure of some of her husband's friends who thought her conduct unfeeling.<ref>Hyde ''Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh''</ref> However her health soon failed and she died in 1829.

==Social leader==
During the [[British Regency|Regency]] of [[George IV]], Lady Castlereagh, along with [[Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey|Lady Jersey]], [[Dorothea Lieven]], [[Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper|Lady Cowper]], and others, was a Lady Patroness of [[Almack's]], one of the first and most exclusive mixed-gender social clubs in London. In their role as Patroness, they had great influence over the ''[[Ton (le bon ton)|ton]]'', determining social acceptance by designating who might receive "vouchers" (entrance tickets) to Almack's, thereby setting and enforcing complex, unwritten social codes of the London social elite.

Credited with having introduced the [[quadrille]] to London, Lady Castlereagh is also remembered for having Almack's doors closed, without exception, at eleven o'clock, even once turning away the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]].<ref>[http://www.britainexpress.com/History/almacks.htm Almack's Assembly Rooms], ''Britain Express''. Accessed 18 June 2008.</ref> Her own parties were considered dull, and her manner was somewhat eccentric: guests described her conversation as an endless flow of trivial information delivered in an oddly detached manner. Despite her frivolous manner, she had been well-educated, and had a passion for literature and music.

At their country home, [[Loring Hall|Woollet Hall]], [[North Cray]], Lady Castlereagh kept a private [[zoo]], which featured [[antelopes]], [[ostriches]], [[kangaroo]]s, and a notably bad-tempered [[tiger]].

Lady Castlereagh is often mentioned in [[Regency novel]]s, most famously in [[Georgette Heyer]]'s Regency romances.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait.php?search=ss&firstRun=true&role=sit&sText=Lady+Castlereagh&LinkID=mp71008&rNo=0 National Portrait Gallery (London)] – Portrait of Amelia Anne (Hobart), Marchioness of Londonderry (Lady Castlereagh), by Richard James Lane, printed by Graf and Soret, lithographic printers, c. 1825–50.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castlereagh, Amelia Stewart, Viscountess}}
[[Category:1772 births]]
[[Category:1829 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century British women]]
[[Category:19th-century British women]]
[[Category:Irish marchionesses|Londonderry]]
[[Category:British socialites]]
[[Category:Daughters of British earls]]
[[Category:Hobart family|Amelia]]
[[Category:Vane-Tempest-Stewart family|Anne]]
[[Category:Women of the Regency era]]
[[Category:Social leaders]]
[[Category:Wives of knights]]