Letter from Louise Montagu (nee Luise Friederike Auguste, Countess von Alten), Duchess of Manchester to Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington

The Duchess writes [concerning the death of the Duke of Manchester] advising SCC to "act as you think best". Sent from: Naples

Louise Frederica Augusta Cavendish (née Countess Louise Friederike Auguste von Alten; other married name Louise Frederica Augusta Montagu, Duchess of Manchester), society figure, was born on 15 January 1832, the second of the three daughters of Karl Franz Victor, Count von Alten, of Hanover, and his wife, Hermine de Schminke.

While on a family visit to the French Riviera she encountered William Drogo Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1823-1890), eldest son of the 6th Duke of Manchester. He proposed to her, and they married on 22 July 1852. They had two sons and three daughters.

Duchess of Manchester from 1855, she served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria under Derby's ministry of 1858- 9. Victoria, who had initially been pleased to have a German in her household, rapidly came to disapprove of the Duchess, and urged the Princess of Wales to drop the acquaintance. The duchess, however, remained one of the principal members of the Marlborough House set, sharing with the Prince of Wales a passion for gambling and racing, and a willingness to overlook discreet infidelity.

Her liaison with Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (1833-1908), began in the early 1860s and lasted until their marriage some thirty years later. The relationship was well-known in aristocratic society, but never drew public attention.

Manchester died in 1890, and on 16 August 1892 she married Hartington, who had become 8th Duke of Devonshire the previous year. Widely referred to as 'the Double Duchess', she was one of the dominant figures of London society. Her entertainments at Chatsworth, at Devonshire House in London, and at the racecourses were lavish and spectacular. Most notable was her Devonshire House Ball, a fancy dress ball given to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The Duchess attended as Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra.

The 8th Duke of Devonshire died in 1908; three years later Louise Devonshire had a seizure at the Sandown racecourse, and died the following day, 15 July 1911, at Sir Edgar Vincent's house, Esher Place, Esher, Surrey. She was buried on 18 July at Edensor, Derbyshire.

Principal source: K.D. Reynolds, 'Cavendish, Louise Frederica Augusta, duchess of Devonshire [née Countess Louise Friederike Auguste von Alten; other married name Louise Frederica Augusta Montagu, duchess of Manchester] (1832- 1911)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). By permission of Oxford University Press.

Arranged in accordance with ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, Second Edition, Ottawa 2000 and The Devonshire Collection Cataloguing Guidelines.

Copyright held by Chatsworth House Trust.