Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon), Duchess of St Albans
(1777?-1837), Actress and bankerRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 5 portraits
As the illegitimate daughter of travelling actors, Harriot Mellon's beginnings were humble, and in her youth she too entered the theatre. Widely admired for her beauty, she attracted the attention of the wealthy banker Thomas Coutts. She became his mistress and when his wife died they married. This made Coutts's family furious. Despite criticism, they were happily married, and when Coutts died ten years later Harriot inherited his vast fortune and his partnership in the bank. Harriot married the Duke of St Albans in 1827, but on her death she left her fortune to Angela Burdett-Coutts, the granddaughter of Thomas Coutts. With this money, Angela was to become one of the greatest philanthropists of the Victorian age.
Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon), Duchess of St Albans
by Sir William Beechey
oil on canvas, circa 1815
NPG 1915
Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon), Duchess of St Albans
by Charles Turner, after Sir William Beechey
mezzotint, published 1806
NPG D4131
by Henry Heath
etching, published 28 June 1827
NPG D17914
'The Presentation of Dollalolla accompanied by the Mighty Thumb'
by William Heath, published by Thomas McLean
hand-coloured etching, published circa April 1828
NPG D48715
'The Presentation of Dollalolla accompanied by the Mighty Thumb'
by William Heath, published by Thomas McLean
hand-coloured etching, published circa April 1828
NPG D48716
Related People
- Thomas Coutts (husband)
- William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans (husband)
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