Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (born Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova; ; 24 October 1783 – 27 March 1856), was a Russian noblewoman who married the 11th Earl of Pembroke.

Early life

She was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the daughter of Ekaterina Alekseevna Seniavina and Count

Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...

(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.Woronzow
Humphrys genealogy, accessed April 4, 2012 She was a niece of Imperial Chancellor

Alexander Vorontsov Count Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov () (4 February 17412 December 1805) was the Chancellor of the Russian Empire during the early years of Alexander I of Russia, Alexander I's reign. He began his career at the age of fifteen in the Izmailovsky ...

Elizaveta Vorontsova Countess Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova (; 13 August 1739 – 2 February 1792) was a Russian noblewoman and lady-in-waiting. She was a mistress of Emperor Peter III of Russia (reigned February to July 1762). During their affair, rumors suggest ...

and Princess Dashkova, a friend of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

and a conspirator in the ''coup d'état'' that deposed

Tsar Peter III Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

and put his wife on the throne.

Personal life

In 1808, she married lieutenant general

George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

as his second wife and became Countess of Pembroke, the

châtelain Châtelain was originally the French title for the keeper of a castle.Abraham Rees Ebers, "CASTELLAIN", in: The Cyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1819), vol. 6. H ...

e of

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. From 1807 until his death in 1827, he served as

Governor of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Lady Elizabeth Herbert (1809–1858), who married

Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam Richard Charles Francis Christian Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam GCH (15 August 1795 – 7 October 1879), styled Lord Gillford between 1800 and 1805, was a British diplomat and politician of Anglo-Irish background. A protégée of the Briti ...

, had issue. *

Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (16 September 1810 – 2 August 1861) was a British Politician, statesman and a close ally and confidant of Florence Nightingale. Early life He was the younger son of ...

(1810–1861), who married Mary Elizabeth Ashe à Court-Repington, had issue. * Lady Mary Herbert (1813–1892), who married

George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury George William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury (20 November 1804 – 6 January 1878), styled Lord Bruce between 1814 and 1821 and Earl Bruce between 1821 and 1856, was a British peer, Liberal politician and courtier. Back ...

, no issue. * Lady Catherine Herbert (1814–1886), who married

Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore Alexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore (1 June 1804 – 15 July 1845) was a British Army officer and peer. He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore. Early life He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore and Lady Susan ...

, had issue. * Lady Georgiana Herbert (1817–1841), who married

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne (7 January 1816 – 5 July 1866), styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British politician. Background and education Born L ...

, no issue. * Lady Emma Herbert (1819–1884), who married

Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci and 4th Baron Knapton (21 September 1803 – 23 December 1875), was an Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative politician. Background de Vesci was the son of The 2nd Viscount de Vesci and Franc ...

, had issue. 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 Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert, (12 June 1831 – 6 May 1905), was the first Premiers of Queensland, Premier of Queensland, Australia. At 28 years and 181 days of age, he was the youngest person ever to become premier of an Australian state ...

. The current

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

, however, descends from Catherine's son Sidney his second son who inherited the title in 1895.

Interests

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pembroke, Catherine Herbert, Countess of 1784 births 1856 deaths Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

English countesses Wives of knights Nobility from Saint Petersburg