Nationality English Name Hester Countess | Role Politician Siblings George Grenville | |
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Born 8 November 1720 London Died April 9, 1803, Curry Rivel, United Kingdom Children William Pitt the Younger, John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham Parents Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple, Richard Grenville (1678–1727) Similar People William Pitt - 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt the Younger, John Pitt - 2nd Earl of Chatham, George Grenville, William Grenville - 1st Baron | ||
Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, 1st Baroness Chatham (née Grenville; 8 November 1720 – 9 April 1803), who was 1st Baroness Chatham in her own right, was the wife of William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. and sister of George Grenville, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1763 to 1765. She was also a niece of the noted Whig politician Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, who had served as William Pitt's mentor.
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Early life
Born on 8 November 1720 in London, she was the only daughter of Richard Grenville and Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple and was baptised in St. James's church on 6 December that year. She spent her childhood with her brothers at Stowe House and Wotton House, riding horses and developing an interest in politics.
Marriage
A spinster until her thirty-fourth year, Lady Hester married the politician, William Pitt, whom she had known for over twenty years as a friend of her brothers, on 16 November 1754 at her home in Argyle Street, London. They spent their ten-day honeymoon at West Wickham, Kent. The marriage was a happy one and the couple moved to a house in Hayes, Kent in 1756. They had five children:
On 4 December 1761, she was created Baroness Chatham, of Chatham, in the County of Kent, with remainder to her sons by William Pitt. He was later created Earl of Chatham in 1766.