Corisande de Gramont

The Right Honourable

The Countess of Tankerville
Portrait by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun c. 1800
Countess of Tankerville
TenureDecember 10, 1822 – June 25, 1859
PredecessorEmma, Lady Tankerville
SuccessorOlivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville
Full name
Corisande Armandine Sophie Leonice Helene Bennet de Gramont
Born(1782-10-05)5 October 1782
Paris, France
Died23 January 1865(1865-01-23) (aged 82)
Mayfair, London
BuriedTrinity Centre
Noble familyGramont family
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1806; died 1859)​
IssueCharles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville
Corisande Emma Bennet
FatherAntoine Louis Marie de Gramont, 8th Duke of Gramont
MotherAglaé de Polignac

Corisande Armandine Sophie Leonice Helene de Gramont (5 October 1782 – 23 January 1865) was a Countess of Tankerville and socialite born to the family of Gramont.[1]

Early life

Corisande de Gramont was the eldest and first-born child of Antoine-Louis, 1st Duc de Gramont et Guiche, and his wife Aglaé de Polignac.[2]

As the grand-daughter of Yolande de Polastron, the favourite and confidante of Marie Antoinette, Corisande's family were given benefits and were regarded as 'close relatives' to the Queen. In 1789, following the outbreak of the French Revolution, Corisande and her family were forced to flee due to her maternal grandmother's relations with France. Eventually, the family resided in Edinburgh, Scotland.

On 30 March 1803, Corisande's mother and her 3 sibings suffered severe burns from a housefire; her mother succumbed to her injuries and died.[2] After the death of her mother, Corisande relocated to England and was brought up in the household of her grandmother's friend, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.[2]

Marriage

Portrait by John Linnell

On July 28, 1806, Corisande married Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville and was titled Countess consort of Tankerville.[3] The marriage took place at the Devonshire House. They had two children; Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville, (1776–1859), and Lady Corisande Bennet (1807–1876).[4]

Death

Following the death of her husband on June 25, 1859 Corisande was given the title of Dowager Countess of Tankerville. Corisande died in London on January 23, 1865.[5][6] Corisande outlived her sister, Aglaé de Gramont by 23 years and her younger brother, Héraclius de Gramont, 9th Duke of Gramont by a decade, despite being the eldest of the three. She was buried in the Trinity Centre, St Philip and St Jacob, Bristol in the area formerly known as the Holy Trinity Church.

Ancestry

Issue

By Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville
Name Portrait Lifespan Age Notes
Charles Augustus Bennet
6th Earl of Tankerville

10 January 1810 –
18 December 1899 		89 years, 10 months and 8 days Charles was Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms, he married in 1830 to Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville but she later died on 15 February 1922. The marriage had issue.
Corisande Emma Bennet
Aristocrat 		10 August 1807 –
17 May 1876 		68 years, 7 months and 9 days Corisande was the wife of James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury, however she died on 17 May 1876. The marriage was childless without issue.

Descendants

Via her son; Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville. She was paternal grandmother of Lady Corisande Olivia Bennet, Charles Bennet, Lady Ida Bennet, Countess of Dalhousie, and George Bennet, 7th Earl of Tankerville.

References

  1. ^ Wagner, Gillian (2017). Miss Palmer's Diary. I.B.Tauris. p. 123. ISBN 978-1786722492.
  2. ^ a b c Baillio, Joseph; Baetjer, Katharine; Lang, Paul (2016). Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France (Hardcover). Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 217. ISBN 978-1588395818.
  3. ^ Madden Robert, Richard (20 May 2024). The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington. Scholarly Commons. p. 474. ISBN 9780404077211.
  4. ^ "Harris, Lady Corisande Emma (1807–1876), née Bennet, wife of James Howard Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury". archives.trin.cam.ac.uk. 5 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Corisande de Gramont". literarybibliography.eu.
  6. ^ "Bennet, Corisande Armandine Sophie Léonie Hélène (1782–1865), née de Gramont, wife of Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville". archives.trin.cam.ac.uk.
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Countess of Tankerville
1806–1859 		Succeeded by