Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington

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

Charlotte Elizabeth Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, 6th Baroness Clifford (née 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.^[1]

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.^[1]

Baroness Clifford

Charlotte inherited great wealth upon the death of her father in 1754.^[1] Lady Clifford gained the title of Baroness Clifford suo jure. Through her marriage, the Cavendish family, with the main title Duke of Devonshire, inherited the 3rd Earl of Burlington's estates (the title went through to the Orrery Boyles). These estates include Burlington House, Piccadilly, London (now the Royal Academy of Arts); Chiswick House, London W4;^[1] Londesborough Hall, Yorkshire; Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire; Lismore Castle, County Waterford, Ireland. She was his sole remaining heir.

Lady Clifford died on 8 December 1754 at Uppingham, Rutland^[1] from smallpox.

Issue

Lady Clifford and Lord Hartington had four children:

• William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (14 December 1748 – 29 July 1811)
• Lady Dorothy Cavendish (27 August 1750 – 3 June 1794), who 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)

Titles from birth to death

• The Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731–1748)
• Marchioness of Hartington (1748–1753)
• The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Clifford, Marchioness of Hartington (1753–1754)

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.)