Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford

Who was Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford?

Isabella Anne Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford was an English courtier and mistress of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. She was a daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine, and married Francis Seymour-Conway, the second Marquess of Hertford in 1776, at age sixteen.

Tall, handsome and elegant, she soon caught the attention of the Prince of Wales. His attentions were not welcomed by her husband, who took her to Ireland to keep her from the Prince. However, this only increased his passion for Lady Hertford, and she became George's mistress in 1807. As a result, the Prince was a regular guest at Hertford House, Hertford's London residence, and Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. A Tory herself, she was influential in turning the Prince toward the Tories, and used her London residence as the headquarters for Tory sympathizers.

On the death of her mother in 1807, she inherited Temple Newsam in West Yorkshire, where the Prince of Wales had paid her a visit. She and her husband added the name of Ingram to their surname due to the fortune they received.

Lady Hertford's relationship with the Prince, now Prince Regent, ended in 1819, when he turned his attentions to Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham.