Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
(1864-1895), Society beauty; wife of 5th Duke of Leinster; daughter of 1st Earl of FevershamSitter in 9 portraits
Hermione, and her younger sister Helen, were great society beauties, considered to be amongst the most beautiful women in England.The romance between Hermione and Lord Elcho illustrates the complex interweaving in the personal lives of social group 'the Souls'. Estranged from her husband, the Duke of Leinster, she became Lord Elcho's mistress, while his wife, Mary Elcho (née Wyndham) had an affair with Wilfred Scawen Blunt and maintained a cerebral love for Arthur Balfour. Hermione died of tuberculosis aged thirty one in 1895, having given birth to Lord Elcho's child two years before.
Helen (née Duncombe), Viscountess D'Abernon; Hermione (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Lafayette
albumen cabinet card, 1888
NPG x87002
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Hayman Seleg Mendelssohn
albumen cabinet card, circa 1888
NPG x8506
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Lafayette
albumen cabinet card, circa 1888
NPG x197347
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Lafayette
albumen cabinet card, 1888
NPG x197348
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by W. & D. Downey, published by Cassell & Company, Ltd
carbon print, published 1890
NPG Ax14736
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by W. & D. Downey, published by Cassell & Company, Ltd
carbon print, published 1890
NPG x19999
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Alfred Werner & Son
albumen cabinet card, circa 1891
NPG x3818
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
by Harry Edwin
silhouette, June 1887
NPG D540
Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster
after Violet Manners, Duchess of Rutland
lithograph, 1895
NPG D23365
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