Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey (née Twysden; 25 February 1753 – 23 July 1821) was an English courtier and Lady of the Bedchamber to Caroline of Brunswick. She was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".
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Early life
She was born Frances Twysden, in London, second and posthumous daughter of The Right Reverend Dr Philip Twysden (c. 1714–1752), Church of Ireland Bishop of Raphoe (1746–1752) and his second wife Frances Carter (later wife of General James Johnston), daughter of Thomas Carter of Castlemartin, Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Her father was the third son of Sir William Twysden, 5th Baronet of Roydon Hall, East Peckham, Kent, by his wife and second cousin Jane Twisden. A scandal surrounded the death of her father on 2 November 1752; he was allegedly shot while attempting to rob a stagecoach near London.
In March 1770, barely a month past her 17th birthday, Frances married George Villiers, the 4th Earl of Jersey (1735–1805), a 34-year-old peer who had succeeded his father in August 1769. The year before, the 4th earl had been appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King George III.
Her husband was appointed Master of Horse to the Prince of Wales in 1795.