Charles Grey, future Prime Minister, 2nd Earl Grey, and progressive hero, was born on 13 March 1764 to General Charles Grey, who was created 1st Earl Grey and Viscount Howick in 1806.
A genius, Charles Grey wowed his way through Trinity College, Cambridge and was only 22 years old when he was elected to Parliament for the Northumberland constituency. As an MP, he became “a part of the Whig circle of Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and the Prince of Wales, and soon became one of the major leaders of the Whig party.”
Grey was also the youngest member of the committee assisting Fox to prosecute Warren Hastings for exploiting his position in India. Since Hastings was the godfather, benefactor, and perhaps biological progenitor of Jane Austen’s cousin/sister-in-law Eliza Hancock, Comtesse de Feuillide, any Whig politician was doubtlessly considered ‘the enemy’ by the Austen family. An ardent and bold reformist like Charles Grey would have been a particular source of dismay in every aspect except his support for the abolition of slavery.
In addition to his devotion to abolition, there are many other reasons why I am charmed by Grey. He was a paragon of Enlightenment in many ways, and as such he became a die-hard supporter of Parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation, as well as the rights of man. His most remarkable achievement was the Reform Act of 1832, “which set in train a gradual process of electoral change, sowing the seeds of the system we recognise today. Around 130 years of parliamentary reform began with this act and culminated in universal suffrage for men and women over 18, secret ballots and legitimate constituencies.”
When he was still a young firebrand in parliament, Charles Grey fell in love with fellow Whig campaigner, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Her husband was openly living with another women in the home he shared with Georgiana, circumstances that boggled the mind in 18th century Britain. The duchess, incorrectly as it turned out, assumed that since her husband was unfaithful literally under her nose that she could find happiness outside the union as well, and began an affair with Grey. Alas, her husband thought infidelity was a male privilege only.
When Georgiana became pregnant in 1791, Grey wanted her to leave her husband and marry him after the duke divorced her – scandal be damned. Her husband had the whip hand, however; he told her that if she left him then she would never see her eldest children again. The duke refused to accept the new baby into the household either. One way or another the duchess would be forced to abandon one or more of he children.
In the end, Georgiana obeyed her husband for the sake of keeping her three elder children, and relinquish her daughter by Grey, Eliza Courtney, to her lover’s family. Grey’s parents stepped in to adopt the child for their unmarried son, so at least she knew the baby would be safe and loved. Georgiana saw Eliza as often as possible, and wrote heartbreaking poetry for her lost child, and Grey himself doted on the little girl even after he married and had legitimate children as well.
Grey married Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, the only daughter of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby and his wife the Hon. Louisa Molesworth, on 18 November 1794. He and his wife had 16 children, 15 of whom survived infancy and 14 of whom survived to adulthood.
He was as active in politics as he was in his wife’s bedchamber, and in 1806 he became “a part of the Ministry of All the Talents (a coalition of Foxite Whigs, Grenvillites, and Addingtonites) as First Lord of the Admiralty … [and later that year] took over both as Foreign Secretary and as leader of the Whigs.” This ministry became defunct “when George III blocked Catholic Emancipation legislation and required that all ministers individually sign a pledge … that they would not, “propose any further concessions to the Catholics.” Grey absolutely refused to promise any such thing. His morals could not be bought, not even for political gain.
After his father’s death in 1807, Grey joined the House of Lords as 2nd Earl Grey, and from there he lead the opposition to the Tories for the next 23 years.
Grey retired in 1834, handing over the leadership of the Whigs and the position of prime minister to Lord Melbourne and going to live at the family estate, Howick Hall. Grey lived another eleven years before dying quietly in his bed on 17 July 1845. He was buried in Howick church nine days later in a private ceremony, with no fanfare. During the Victorian era, Earl Grey tea, or tea flavoured with bergamot oil, was named for him. What better way to honor a British citizen than through tea?
Is this Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, the mother of Georgiana Dorothy Cavendish, Countess of Carlisle? If so, was it during her romance with Grey that she suffered a menage-a-trois with her husband and Lady Elizabeth Foster?
If yes, that was quite a licentious family.
Her husband was already in a relationship with Lady Foster when the duchess embarked on her affair with Charles Grey 🙂