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Charlotte Fermor Finch


(b. Feb. 16, 1725, Easton Neston House, Towcester, Northamptonshire – d. July 11, 1813, Ehingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany )

Gender: F

Charlotte Fermor (1725-1813) was the daughter of Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret. In 1746 she became the second wife of William Finch (1691-1766), brother of Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, who was thirty-four years her senior, and they had one son and four daughters. She appears to have been well-educated: Horace Walpole later admired her fluency in Italian, and she was a great friend of Elizabeth Carter. Her husband was vice-chamberlain of the royal household, and in August 1762, Lady Charlotte was appointed as governess, a role she held for over thirty years, overseeing the upbringing of fourteen of the fifteen children of King George III and Queen Charlotte. She appears to have been chosen for her skill in bringing up her own children. The princesses were devoted to their governess, who arranged to give them a broader education than was generally considered appropriate for girls. In 1765, she obtained a formal separation from her husband, who had developed violent dementia, and took her children to live with her in St James’s Palace and at a house in Kew. She retired from service in January 1793, but continued to live at St James’s Palace and received a royal pension. She died in 1813 at the age of eighty-eight.

Also known as:

  • Charlotte Finch (née  Fermor)

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Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

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