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Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster

(1864-1895), Society beauty; wife of 5th Duke of Leinster; daughter of 1st Earl of Feversham

Sitter 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.

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Helen (née Duncombe), Viscountess D'Abernon; Hermione (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster, by Lafayette - NPG x87002

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 - NPG x8506

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 - NPG x197347

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 - NPG x197348

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 - NPG Ax14736

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 - NPG x19999

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 - NPG x3818

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 - NPG D540

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 - NPG D23365

Hermione Wilhelmina Fitzgerald (née Duncombe), Duchess of Leinster

after Violet Manners, Duchess of Rutland
lithograph, 1895
NPG D23365

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