Elizabeth Grenville (néeWyndham; 1719 – 5 December 1769) was an English artist and writer. She was the wife of George Grenville, prime minister from 1763 to 1765; the daughter of Sir William Wyndham, a prominent Tory politician; and the mother of William Grenville, prime minister from 1806 to 1807.
She was born Elizabeth Wyndham in 1719 to Sir William Wyndham and his first wife, Lady Catherine Seymour, the daughter of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. She was baptised on 31 January 1719 in Westminster and had two older brothers, Charles and Percy.
Her father was a prominent politician in the 1710s and 1720s, serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the Tories. Wyndham's mother, Catherine, died in 1731 and William remarried in 1734 to Maria Catherina de Jonge.
Wyndham suffered from smallpox when she was young, which left scarring on her face.[1]
Wyndham kept a book of newspaper cuttings, mostly relating to political subjects, and kept a diary of her husband's political career.[1][2] She was also an amateur artist and produced several pastel works, including a self-portrait that was sold as part of the Stowe House sale of 1848.[3][4]
On 16 May 1749, Wyndham married George Grenville, then a lord of the Treasury and an MP for Buckingham. Her grandfather, the Duke of Somerset, did not approve of the marriage and left Wyndham only a small amount of money in his will.[5] The couple took over the running of Wotton House in Buckinghamshire, where they raised their eight children:[6]
Elizabeth Grenville (24 October 1756 – 21 December 1842); married (as his second wife) John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort (1751–1828), on 12 April 1787, and had three daughters
Catherine Grenville (1761 – 6 November 1796); married Richard Neville-Aldworth (1750–1825), afterwards Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke, on 19 June 1780, and had four children.
In 1763 George Grenville became prime minister. Although his ministry lasted only two years he remained at the forefront of politics throughout the 1760s. Elizabeth died on 5 December 1769 and was buried eight days later in Wotton Underwood, as was her husband following his death a year later.[7]
