Social Victorians/People/Cavendish

Also Known As

• Family name: Cavendish
• Duke of Devonshire (peerage of England)
  • William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (18 January 1858 – 21 December 1891)
  • Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (21 December 1891 – 24 March 1908)
• Duchess of Devonshire
  • [The 7th Duke's wife Blanche Georgiana Howard Cavendish died in 1840, 18 years before he acceded to the dukedom, so there was no Duchess of Devonshire between 1806 (when Lady Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, the famous wife of the 5th Duke, died) and 1891.]
  • Louisa (or Luise) Friederike Auguste Gräfin von Alten Montagu Cavendish (16 August 1892 – 15 November 1911)
• Subsidiary titles for the eldest son and heir apparent of each title holder
  • Marquis or Marquess of Hartington, eldest son of the Duke of Devonshire
  • Earl of Burlington, eldest son of the Marquis of Hartington
  • Lord Cavendish, eldest son of the Earl of Burlington

Timeline

1865 August 3, Edward Cavendish and Hon. Emma Elizabeth Lascelles married.

1892 July 30, Victor Cavendish and Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice married.

1892 August 16, Spencer Compton Cavendish (8th Duke) and Louisa Friederike Auguste Gräfin von Alten Montagu, the Duchess of Manchester, married in Christ Church, Mayfair.

1897 July 2, Friday, Spencer, 8th Duke and Luisa, Duchess of Devonshire hosted the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. Also attending were Lady Edward Cavendish, Mr. R. Cavendish, the Hon. Victor Cavendish, and Lady E. Cavendish. Also, a Lady M. Cavendish was present.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Members of the family who attended the 1897 Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House:

• Spencer, 8th Duke and Luisa, Duchess of Devonshire, as hosts
• Lady Edward Cavendish (#393 on the list of people who attended)
• Mr. R. Cavendish (possibly Rt. Hon. Lord Richard Cavendish, #107, because at the time he might have been a Mr.)
• The Hon. Victor Cavendish (#121)
• Lady E. Cavendish (probably Lady Evelyn Cavendish, #164)
• Lady M. Cavendish, who if Moyra was married to Richard Frederick Cavendish (#366)
• Mr. S. Cavendish (#700)

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (by Pierre Mignard, 1694)

Lady Edward Cavendish

Lady Emma Cavendish, who was married to Edward Cavendish, was 60 years old at the time of the ball. An image of her in costume appeared in the Queen (bottom left of the page, the numeral 16 below the line drawing, facing to her right, body turned slightly to her right, left hand resting on the back of a chair; sleeves, collar and extremely tiny waist emphasized, the drawing is similar to descriptions of her costume; the drawing apparently signed by “Rook”).

The portrait (right), painted by Pierre Mignard I in about 1694, when Françoise, Marquise de Maintenon was 50, has been at Versailles since 1841. It does not show the Marquise de Maintenon dressed in violet velvet and gray satin, so it is not likely the original for Lady Emma Cavendish's costume, if one exists.

Lady Emma Cavendish

• was dressed as "Madame de Maintenon."
• "came as Madame de Maintenou [sic?], in violet velvet and grey satin, embroidered with diamonds and silver."
• Accompanying the line drawing in the Queen of Emma Cavendish in costume is this description:

  Made by Mrs Mason, 4, New Burlington Street, W. … No. 16. LADY EDWARD CAVENDISH, Madame de Maintenon. — Purple velvet gown, with under-dress of pearl-grey satin, embroidered diamonds and silver; collar and sleeve ruffles of old point.

Madame de Maintenon is probably Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (1635–1719). She was secretly married to Louis XIV of France, the "Sun King," in the winter of 1783–84, a morganatic marriage for him. She was interested in high-quality education for girls, especially daughters of impoverished aristocrats in France.

Lady Moyra Cavendish in costume as Countess Lazan. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Mr. R. and Lady Moyra Cavendish

Lady M. Cavendish (probably Lady Moyra Cavendish, at 366) was dressed as Countess Lützau "(a lady-in-waiting to Maria Theresa)" in the Austrian Court of Maria Theresa Quadrille. So if Lazan, as used in the Album, is the same as Lützau, then this is Lady Moyra Cavendish.

Gunn & Stuart's portrait of "Lady Moyra de Vere Cavendish (née Beauclerk) as Countess Lazan" in costume is photogravure #63 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Lady Moyra Cavendish as Countess Lazan," with a Long S in Countess.

Who Lady Moyra Cavendish meant by Countess Lazan or Countess Lützau is not perfectly clear. Francisco de Goya painted a portrait of Marquesa de Lazan in 1804, María Gabriela de Palafox y Portocarrero. Having been born in 1779, she would have been too young to be a Lady in Waiting in the court of Marie Thérèse.

Danish king Frederick V had 5 children by his mistress Else (Cathrine Marie Mahs) Hansen, one of whom was Friederika Katherina (1748–1822), who married Colonel Hans Frederik von Lützau. These children were officially recognized, and the 4 daughters who survived childhood married into the upper-middle class or aristocracy. This Madame von Lützau, then, was alive at the time of Empress Marie Thérèse and had perhaps sufficient money and influence to end up in a court like hers. In 1764 Jens Thrane the Younger painted portraits of Madame de Hansen as well as Friederika Katherina and Hans Frederik von Lützau, now at the National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle.

Mr. R. Cavendish (probably Rt. Hon. Lord Richard Cavendish, at 107) was present. (He was Mr. Cavendish because he was a Member of Parliament, and he was not Lord Cavendish until 1908). Lord Richard Frederick Cavendish was married to Lady Moyra Cavendish. Mr. R. Cavendish wore

• "(period of Marie Thérèse), maroon brocade, with maroon cords and steel."
• a "Costume of the period of Marie Thérèse, in maroon brocade, trimmed maroon cords, and steel."

Mr. S. Cavendish

A Mr. S. Cavendish (at 700) was also present.

S. Cavendish in costume as Count Chotak. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Caricature of Richard Frederick Cavendish by Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair, 26 April 1900

Mr. S. Cavendish's name is a possible error in the Album. He is not mentioned in any press reports findable at this time (summer 2021) in the British Newspaper Archive 1890–1900 (except for an American explorer named S. H. Cavendish or H. S. H. Cavendish who was in London about this time), which suggests that no Mr. S. Cavendish notable enough to be invited to the party existed. His portrait was in the commemorative album of portraits, however, suggesting that he was quite notable.

Gunn & Stuart's portrait of "S. Cavendish as Count Chotak" in costume is photogravure #64 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mr. S. Cavendish as Count Chotak."

One Count Chotek — Johann Karl, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1704–1787) — knew Marie Thérèse when she was Empress. In 1753, the Empress recognized Johann Karl, Count Chotek of Chotkow's service with a palace, the Palais Strozzi in Josefstadt (Vienna).

It is conceivable, then, because Mr. S. Cavendish's photographer was Gunn & Stuart, who also took Lady M. Cavendish's portrait, that Mr. S. Cavendish is actually Mr. R. Cavendish. The man in the portrait as Count Chotak and the man in the caricature by Leslie Ward for Vanity Fair, published in 1900, could be the same, as they seem to resemble each other strongly, although one could also expect a strong family resemblance in any case.

Victor Christian William Cavendish, Vanity Fair, by "Spy," 9 May 1895

The Hon. Victor Cavendish

Mr. Victor Cavendish as an Ambassador. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

The Hon. Victor Cavendish, later 9th Duke of Devonshire, was seated in the first seating for supper. His portrait by "Spy" (right) was published in Vanity Fair on 9 May 1895.

Lafayette's portrait (left) of "Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire as an Ambassador after Holbein's picture in the National Gallery" in costume is photogravure #46 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mr. Victor Cavendish as an Ambassador after Holbein's picture in the National Gallery," with a Long S in Ambassador.

Possibly the original of Victor Cavendish's costume is shown on French Ambassador Jean de Dinteville, the man on the left in the 1533 painting by Hans Holbein the Younger (below right), which the National Gallery in London has owned since 1890.

Newspaper Descriptions of His Costume

Holbein's The Ambassadors, 1533.

• He was wearing the "Costume of an Ambassador, copied from Holbein's picture in the National Gallery. (The figure to the left of the spectator is the one represented.)"
• "Mr. Victor Cavendish [wore] an Ambassador's dress copied from a Holbein in the National Gallery." (42, Col. 2b)
• He "was admirably dressed in a black velvet Tudor coat and a cerise shirt, slashed and puffed with cream-coloured satin, the revers of the coat faced with light-hued fur, and wearing a little quaintly-fashioned black cap. The costume was a copy of one worn by an Ambassador in Holbein’s famous pictures in the National Gallery."
• "The Hon. Victor Cavendish (Ambassador, from Holbein's picture in the National Gallery)."

Lady Evelyn Cavendish in costume as a Lady of the Court of Marie Therese. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Lady E. Cavendish

Lady E. Cavendish (probably Lady Evelyn Cavendish, at 164) sat at Table 5 and was dressed as Countess Trautmannsdorf in the Austrian Court of Maria Theresa Quadrille, leading one section of the quadrille with Mr. Mildmay.

Lafayette's portrait of "Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish (née Petty-Fitzmaurice), Duchess of Devonshire when Lady Evelyn Cavendish as a Lady of the Court of Marie Therese" in costume is photogravure #45 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Lady Evelyn Cavendish as a Lady of the Court of Marie Therese."

Two possible Countesses Trauttmansdorff could have been at the court of Empress Marie Thérèse: Countess Maria Antonie von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg (1746-1817) and her mother, Countess Maria Anna von Herberstein (1723-1815), wife of Count Franz Norbert von Trauttmansdorff. At this point, it is not possible to know which Countess Trauttmansdorff that Lady E. Cavendish was thinking of.

Demographics

• Nationality: English

Residences

• Family estate: Derbyshire
• Chatsworth House

Family

• William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891)
• Blanche Georgiana Howard Cavendish (11 January 1812 – 27 April 1840)

1. Louisa Caroline Cavendish ( – 21 September 1907)
2. William Cavendish (8 October 1831 – 15 May 1834)
3. Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (23 July 1833 – 24 March 1908)
4. Frederick Charles Cavendish (30 November 1836 – 6 May 1882)
5. Edward Cavendish (28 January 1838 – 18 May 1891)

• Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (23 July 1833 – 24 March 1908)
• Louisa (or Luise) Friederike Auguste Gräfin von Alten Montagu Cavendish (15 January 1832 – 15 November 1911)

• Edward Cavendish (28 January 1838 – 18 May 1891)
• Hon. Emma Elizabeth Lascelles Cavendish (17 November 1838 – 24 September 1920)

1. Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (31 May 1868 – 6 May 1938)
2. Rt. Hon. Lord Richard Frederick Cavendish (31 January 1871 – 7 January 1946)
3. Major John Spencer Cavendish (25 March 1875 – 20 October 1914)

• Rt. Hon. Lord Richard Frederick Cavendish (31 January 1871 – 7 January 1946)
• Lady Moyra de Vere Beauclerk (20 January 1876 – 7 February 1942)

1. Elizabeth Vere Cavendish (22 Jan 1897 – 5 Jun 1982)
2. Alix Cavendish (5 Aug 1901 – 29 Jun 1925)
3. Mary Katherine Cavendish (20 Jul 1903 – 20 Nov 1994)
4. John Edward Compton Cavendish (10 Oct 1907 – 29 May 1908)
5. Diana Cavendish (15 Sep 1909 – 1992)
6. Sybil Moyra Cavendish (10 Aug 1915 – 3 Aug 2004)
7. Richard Edward Osborne Cavendish (23 Nov 1917 – 14 Aug 1972)

• Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (31 May 1868 – 6 May 1938)
• Lady Evelyn Emily Mary Petty-FitzMaurice Cavendish (27 August 1870 – 2 April 1960)

1. Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (6 May 1895 – 26 November 1950)
2. Lady Maud Louisa Emma Cavendish (20 April 1896 – 30 March 1975)
3. Lady Blanche Katherine Cavendish (2 February 1898 – 1987)
4. Lady Dorothy Evelyn Cavendish (28 July 1900 – 21 May 1966)
5. Lady Rachel Cavendish (22 January 1902 – 2 October 1977)
6. Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish (29 August 1905 – 23 March 1944)
7. Lady Anne Cavendish (20 August 1909 – 1981)