Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope
(1776-1839), TravellerSitter in 1 portrait
Lady Hester Stanhope spent several years keeping house for her uncle, the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, a period that she claimed was the happiest of her life. After his death she left Britain for Turkey, ostensibly to make her money go further, and never returned. Myths accumulated around her as she travelled the Middle East, making a spectacular entry into Palmyra in 1813, calling herself 'Queen of the Desert'. Travelling in extravagant style, she gradually sank deeper into debt. Her later years were spent in a ruined Lebanese monastery, initially admired but living increasingly in destitution.
by Robert Jacob Hamerton, printed by Charles Joseph Hullmandel, published by Richard Bentley
lithograph, 1830s?
NPG D5409
Related People
- William Pitt (uncle)
- Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (father)
- Lady Lucy Rachel Stanhope (sister)
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