Mary Grey, Countess Grey

The Right Honourable
The Countess Grey
In role
22 November 1830  9 July 1834
Preceded by The Duchess of Wellington
Succeeded by Vacant
Personal details
Born (1776-03-04)4 March 1776
Whitehaven
Died 26 November 1861(1861-11-26) (aged 85)
London
Nationality British
Spouse(s)
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
(m. 1794; d. 1845)
Children 16, including Henry, Charles, and Frederick
Parents

Mary Elizabeth Grey, Countess Grey (née Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby; 4 March 1776 – 26 November 1861) was a British aristocrat and Countess of Grey as wife of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is also a great-great-great-great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Biography

Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby was born on 4 March 1776 in Whitehaven. She was the only daughter of William Ponsonby (1744–1806) the future 1st Baron Ponsonby and his wife, the Honourable Louisa Molesworth (1749–1824), daughter of Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth.

Personal life

She married on 18 November 1794 Charles Grey MP (1764–1845), the future 2nd Earl Grey and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the son of Charles Grey (1729–1807), later 1st Baron Grey and 1st Earl Grey, and his wife Elizabeth Grey née Grey (1743–1822). They had ten sons and six daughters:

Later life and death

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. Mary Grey, Countess Grey, was widowed on 17 July 1845. She lived until 26 November 1861, when she died aged 85 in Eaton Square, London.

Titles and styles

  • 1776–1794: Miss Mary Ponsonby
  • 1794–1801: Mrs. Charles Grey
  • 1801–1806: The Honourable Mrs. Charles Grey
  • 1806–1807: Viscountess Howick
  • 1807–1845: The Right Honourable The Countess Grey
  • 1845–1861: The Right Honourable The Dowager Countess Grey

Ancestry[2]

References

  1. Burke's Peerage, (1999), pp.1225-6
  2. thepeerage.com
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Duchess of Wellington
Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1830–1834
Vacant
Title next held by
The Lady Peel
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