Anne Elizabeth Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield (''née'' Weld-Forester; 7 September 1802 – 27 July 1885) was known as a political confidante.

Life

Stanhope was born in 1802, the eldest daughter of

Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester (baptised 7 April 1767 – 23 May 1828) was a Tory British Member of Parliament and later peer. Biography Born Cecil Forester and baptised at St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, Editors Vicary Gibbs and H. A. D ...

M.P. A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, and Lady Katherine Manners, the daughter of

Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (15 March 175424 October 1787) was a British politician and nobleman, the eldest legitimate son of John Manners, Marquess of Granby. He was styled ...

. The family home was Willey Park in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. In 1830,

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

proposed to her, but she instead accepted the proposal of George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield. They had one son and a daughter, Lady Evelyn Stanhope (1834–1875), later the first wife of

Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, (24 June 1831 – 29 June 1890), known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party. He was twice Secretary of State for the ...

. Anne Stanhope's husband was considered a wastrel, who spent much of his time asleep in Bretby Hall and let his lands at Bretby to go to waste. He died in June 1866, aged 61, and was succeeded by their son, George. Like her sister Selina, Countess of Bradford, Anne was an intimate friend of Benjamin Disraeli. After they had both been widowed Disraeli is said to have proposed to her, but she declined, saying that people over seventy would be foolish to marry. Some of their friends thought that she refused him because she believed that he cared more for her sister.Pearson, Hesketh. ''Dizzy: The Life and Personality of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield.'' New York: Harper Collins, 1951, p.243. Nevertheless, she was Disraeli's confidante, and they exchanged hundreds of letters. She continued to live at Bretby Hall. She died on 27 July 1885, having outlived her son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, Anne 1802 births 1885 deaths British reporters and correspondents People from Derbyshire (before 1895) Chesterfield Daughters of barons