Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (10 May 1699–7 July 1754) was a British peeress, poet and letter writer, known as the Countess of Hertford from 1715 to 1748.
Born Frances Thynne, probably at Longleat, she was the eldest child and coheir of Hon. Henry Thynne, himself the youngest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth. Her early upbringing was at Longleat, where she became friendly with the poets, Elizabeth Singer (later Rowe) and Anne F...
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Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (10 May 1699–7 July 1754) was a British peeress, poet and letter writer, known as the Countess of Hertford from 1715 to 1748.
Born Frances Thynne, probably at Longleat, she was the eldest child and coheir of Hon. Henry Thynne, himself the youngest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth. Her early upbringing was at Longleat, where she became friendly with the poets, Elizabeth Singer (later Rowe) and Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, her great-aunt. After her father's death in 1708, Frances and her mother moved to Leweston, the home of the latter's father, Sir George Strode.
On 5 July 1715, Frances married the soldier and courtier, Algernon Seymour, Earl of Hertford, the eldest son and heir of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset and his wife, Elizabeth, who hated Frances. The couple had two children:
Lord and Lady Hertford then made their home at a house in Marlborough, constructed by the duke, which the earl completed and the countess...
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