Mary Grey, Countess Grey

The Right Honourable The Countess Grey
Born	4 March 1776 Whitehaven
Died	26 November 1861 (aged 85) London
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (m. 1794; his death 1845)
Children	See § Personal life
Parent(s)	Lord Ponsonby Louisa Molesworth

Mary Grey, Countess Grey (née Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby; 4 March 1776 – 26 November 1861) was a British aristocrat and Countess of Grey as wife of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. She is also a great-great-great-great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Biography

Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby was born on 4 March 1776 in Whitehaven. She was the only daughter of William Ponsonby (1744–1806) the future 1st Baron Ponsonby and his wife, the Honourable Louisa Molesworth (1749–1824), daughter of Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth.

Personal life

She married on 18 November 1794 Mr. Charles Grey MP (1764–1845), the future 2nd Earl Grey and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Son of Charles Grey (1729–1807), later 1st Baron Grey and 1st Earl Grey, and his wife Elizabeth Grey née Grey (1743–1822). They had ten sons and six daughters:

• a stillborn daughter (1796)
• Lady Louisa Elizabeth Grey (7 April 1797 – 26 November 1841); married John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, him of the Durham report
• Lady Elizabeth Grey (10 July 1798 – 8 November 1880); married John Crocker Bulteel (d. 10 September 1843). Their daughter, Louisa Emily Charlotte Bulteel, is one of the great-great-great-grandmothers of Diana, Princess of Wales, through her marriage with Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke
• Lady Caroline Grey (30 August 1799 – 28 April 1875); married Capt. The Hon. George Barrington
• Lady Georgiana Grey (17 February 1801 – 1900); never married
• Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey (28 December 1802 – 9 October 1894), eldest son, who became a politician like his father
• General Sir Charles Grey (15 March 1804 – 31 March 1870), father of Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey
• Admiral Sir Frederick William Grey (23 August 1805 – 2 May 1878)
• Lady Mary Grey (2 May 1807 – 6 July 1884); married Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax
• Hon. William Grey (13 May 1808 – 11 February 1815)
• Admiral The Hon. George Grey (16 May 1809 – 3 October 1891) married Jane Frances, daughter of Gen Hon Sir Patrick Stuart
• Hon. Thomas Grey (29 December 1810 – 8 July 1826)
• Rev. Hon.John Grey MA, DD (2 March 1812 – 11 November 1895) Canon and Rector of Durham
• Rev.Francis Richard Grey (31 March 1813 – 22 March 1890) married Lady Elizabeth Howard (1816–1891), daughter of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle and Georgiana Cavendish (daughter of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire).
• Hon. Henry Cavendish Grey (16 October 1814 – 5 September 1880) Army Captain
• Hon. William George Grey (15 February 1819 – 19 December 1865) married Theresa Catherine, only daughter of Maj-Gen Count Stedink, Insp-Gen of Cavalry Sweden.^[1]

Later life and death

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. Mary Grey, Countess Grey, was widowed on 17 July 1845. She lived until 26 November 1861, when she died aged 85 in Eaton Square, London.

Titles and styles

• 1776–1794: Miss Mary Ponsonby
• 1794–1801: Mrs. Charles Grey
• 1801–1806: The Honourable Mrs. Charles Grey
• 1806–1807: The Right Honourable The Viscountess Howick
• 1807–1845: The Right Honourable The Countess Grey
• 1845–1861: The Right Honourable The Dowager Countess Grey

Ancestry^[2]

Ancestors of Mary Grey, Countess Grey

16. William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon               8. Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough                       17. Mary Moor               4. The Hon. John Ponsonby                             18. John Margetson               9. Sarah Margetson                       19. The Hon. Alice Caulfeild               2. William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby                                   20. William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire               10. William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire                       21. The Hon. Rachel Russell               5. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish                             22. John Hoskins               11. Catherine Hoskins                       23. Catherine Hale               1. Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby                                         24. Robert Molesworth               12. Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth                       25. Judith Bysse               6. Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth                             26. Richard Coote, 1st Baron Coote               13. Letitia Coote                       27. Mary St. George               3. The Hon. Louisa Molesworth                                   28. Ven. Adam Ussher               14. Ven. William Ussher                       29. Justith Newcomen               7. Mary Jenney Ussher                             30. Rev. Christophilus Jenney               15. Mary Jenney

References

1. Burke's Peerage, (1999), pp.1225-6
2. thepeerage.com