Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke

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Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (née Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova; Russian: Екатерина Семёновна Воронцова; 24 October 1783 – 27 March 1856), was a Russian noblewoman who married the Earl of Pembroke.

The Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery
Portrait of Lady Pembroke, by Sir Henry Raeburn, c. 1810s
Born
Countess Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova

(1783-10-24)24 October 1783
Died27 March 1856(1856-03-27) (aged 72)
Spouse
(m. 1808; died 1827)
ChildrenElizabeth Meade, Countess of Clanwilliam
Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea
Mary Brudenell-Bruce, Marchioness of Ailesbury
Catherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore
Georgiana Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne
Emma Vesey, Viscountess de Vesci
Parent(s)Semyon Vorontsov
Ekaterina Seniavina
RelativesPrince Mikhail Vorontsov (brother)

Early life edit

She was born in Saint Petersburg, the daughter of Ekaterina Alekseevna Seniavina and Count Semyon Vorontsov (sometimes spelt Woronzow), the Russian Ambassador in Britain from 1785 to 1806. She was the only sister of Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, Viceroy of New Russia and Caucasus.[1]

She was a niece of Imperial Chancellor Alexander Vorontsov, Elizaveta Vorontsova and Princess Dashkova, a friend of Catherine the Great and a conspirator in the coup d'état that deposed Tsar Peter III and put his wife on the throne.[2]

Personal life edit

In 1808, she married lieutenant general George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke as his second wife and became Countess of Pembroke, the châtelaine of Wilton House, Wiltshire.[3] From 1807 until his death in 1827, he served as Governor of Guernsey. Together, they were the parents of:[4]

Lady Pembroke died on 27 March 1856. Upon her husband's death, the earldoms were inherited by his son from his first marriage, Robert Herbert. The current Earl of Pembroke, however, descends from Catherine's son Sidney his second son who inherited the title in 1895.

Interests edit

One source describes her as a linguist and musician.[5] Her letters show her to have been a shrewd observer of European politics.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ Woronzow, Humphrys genealogy, accessed April 4, 2012
  2. ^ Rhinelander, Anthony Laurens Hamilton (1990). Prince Michael Vorontsov: Viceroy to the Tsar. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-7735-0747-0. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. ^ Dobbs, Michael (16 October 2012). Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman--from World War to Cold War. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 371. ISBN 978-0-307-96089-4. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3095. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  5. ^ Skinner, Michael (2008). What we did for the Russians. Lulu.com. p. 80. ISBN 978-0955976001.[self-published source]