Frances Nelson

Who was Frances Nelson?

Frances "Fanny" Nelson, Viscountess Nelson, is best known as the wife of Horatio Nelson, the British naval officer who won several victories over the French during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Born of wealthy parents on Nevis, she was orphaned at a fairly young age, and married a doctor, Josiah Nisbet. The couple returned to England, but her new husband died there, and Frances returned to Nevis to live with her uncle, a prominent politician of the island. There she met Horatio Nelson, and married him in 1789. The couple moved to England and Fanny established a household and cared for her husband's elderly father while he was at sea. She was by all accounts a devoted wife, but in time Horatio met Emma Hamilton while serving in the Mediterranean and the two embarked in a highly public affair. Fanny became estranged from her husband, who refused all contact with her up to his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Despite this she remained devoted to his memory for the rest of her life.