Emily Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury
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Mary Amelia 'Emily Mary' Cecil, 1st Marchioness of Salisbury (1750–1835), was an English aristocrat, Tory political hostess and sportswoman.
Background
Emily Cecil was born Mary Amelia Hill, the daughter of Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough (later the first Marquess of Downshire), and his first wife, Margaretta Fitzgerald (1729–1766), sister of James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster. Her father was the Secretary of State for the Colonies under Lord North from 1768 to 1772, a critical period leading toward the American War of Independence.
Marriage and Political Hostess
Emily married James Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, the heir of James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury, on 2 December 1773. After marriage, she became a prominent political hostess of the Tory party.[1]
Issues
The couple had four children:
- Lady Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Cecil (d. 1860), married Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
- Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil (d. 1858), married George Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath and had issue
- Caroline Cecil, died young
- James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury (1791–1868)
Death
Lady Salisbury died in a fire in Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, on 27 November 1835 at the age of eighty-five.The fire destroyed the west wing of the house and only a few bones of hers were found.