Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne (née Milbanke; 1751 – 1818) was one of the most influential of the political hostesses of the extended Regency period, and the wife of Whig politician Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. She was the mother of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and several other influential children. Lady Melbourne was known for her political influence and her friendships and romantic relationships with other members of the English aristocracy, including Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, and George, Prince of Wales. Because of her numerous love affairs, the paternity of several of her children is a matter of dispute.
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Early life and marriage
Elizabeth Milbanke was baptised on 15 October 1751, in the village of Croft-on-Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. She was the youngest child and only daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, 5th Baronet, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Hedworth). She had two brothers, with the eldest being Ralph Noel—future Foxite Whig politician and 6th Baronet. The family resided at Halnaby Hall, Yorkshire.
Elizabeth's father was a politician and her maternal grandfather was John Hedworth, a Member of Parliament for County Durham. Elizabeth was privately educated and learned French and poetry composition. Her mother died in 1767. Two years later, Elizabeth met Sir Peniston Lamb, 2nd Baronet; they married in London on 13 April 1769. The couple lived at Melbourne House in Piccadilly and Elizabeth quickly became a well-known figure in London Whig society.
She was apparently untroubled by her husband's infidelity early in their marriage with the actress and courtesan, Sophia Baddeley, just as he came to tolerate her numerous love affairs. Peniston was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Lord Melbourne, Baron of Kilmore, in 1770, and Viscount Melbourne, in 1781. As well as Melbourne House, the family had country residences at Brocket Hall, in Hertfordshire, and Melbourne Hall, in Derbyshire.
Personal relationships
From the start of her marriage, Lady Melbourne cultivated friendships that helped her position in society, and her husband's career. These relationships were frequently with men, some of whom became lovers. She was noted for discretion in her affairs: she famously remarked that no man was safe with another's secrets and no woman with her own. Unlike her daughter-in-law, Lady Caroline Lamb, who conducted a very public extramarital affair with Lord Byron, Lady Melbourne had a clear understanding of what society would and would not condone. She was highly intelligent, if not intellectual; it was said of her that, within the rather narrow limits of her experience, her knowledge of the world was remarkable.
She was a devoted mother and worked tirelessly to advance the careers of all her children, especially William. Lord David Cecil remarked that few children have had a better mother, although her reputation for immorality caused them some distress: George once came to blows with a friend who said "your mother is a whore". William, though admitting that his mother's private life was not blameless, called her "the most sagacious woman [he] ever knew" and remarked that "she kept me straight as long as she lived".
After the marriage in 1774 of Lady Georgiana Spencer to William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, Lady Melbourne became a close friend of and personal advisor to the Duchess. Until this point, Lady Melbourne had enjoyed unrivalled success as a political hostess and quickly recognised that the young duchess, with a higher rank and better connections, would be a more valuable friend than a rival. The two women were painted, alongside their friend, sculptor Anne Damer, by Daniel Gardner as the Three Witches in his 1775 painting Witches Round the Cauldron. Lady Melbourne featured as the character of Lady Besford in the Duchess' novel The Sylph.
By contrast, she and the Duchess' sister, Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough, disliked each other intensely, and Lady Melbourne's enmity later extended to Henrietta's daughter, Lady Caroline Lamb. True to her practical nature, she did not allow this dislike to interfere with her support for her son William's marriage to Caroline, which was a social step up for the Lamb family, who were still, by the strict social standards of the age, considered to be newcomers to polite society.
Issue
Lady Melbourne had six children that survived childhood; infant twins died in 1788. Of the remaining six, only the eldest, Peniston, was certainly fathered by Lord Melbourne. Their youngest daughter Harriet died of consumption in 1803 at the age of 14; the young Peniston succumbed to the same illness in 1805, at 34.
Hon. Peniston Lamb (3 May 1770 – 24 January 1805)
Elizabeth Lamb (born 25 October 1777)
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 1779– 24 November 1848)
Frederick Lamb, 3rd Viscount Melbourne (17 April 1782 – 29 January 1853)
Hon. George Lamb (11 July 1784 – 2 January 1834)
Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper (1787–1869)
Harriet Lamb (1789–1803)