Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington
{{short description|18th-century British demimonde}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox noble
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Caroline Stanhope
| title = Countess of Harrington
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Cosway - Caroline, Countess of Harrington.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Portrait of Lady Caroline FitzRoy by Richard Cosway
| birth_name = Caroline FitzRoy
| birth_date = 8 April 1722
| birth_place =
| death_date = 26 June 1784
| death_place =
| occupation = Socialite, demimondaine
| noble family = FitzRoy (by birth)
Stanhope (by marriage)
| spouse = {{marriage|William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington|11 August 1746|1779|end=d}}
| issue = Isabella Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington
| father = Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton
| mother = Lady Henrietta Somerset
}}
Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (née Lady Caroline FitzRoy; 8 April 1722 – 26 June 1784) was a British socialite and demimondaine. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Charles II. After being blackballed by the English social group The Female Coterie, she founded The New Female Coterie, a social club of courtesans and "fallen women" that met in a brothel. Known for her infidelity and bisexuality, she was nicknamed the "Stable Yard Messalina" due to her adulterous lifestyle. Her "colourful" life is often contrasted with that of her daughter-in-law, Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, who was viewed as a respectable member of British high society.
Family
Lady Caroline was born on 8 April 1722, the fifth child of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton and Lady Henrietta Somerset, the daughter of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester.{{Cite web|url=https://dirtysexyhistory.com/2016/10/23/caroline-countess-of-harrington-and-the-new-female-coterie/|title=Caroline, Countess of Harrington and The New Female Coterie|date=Oct 23, 2016|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3QEAAAAQAAJ&q=harrington&pg=PA223|title=The Town and country magazine; or Universal repository of knowledge, instruction, and entertainment|date=Dec 31, 1780|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019|via=Google Books}}
Lady Caroline married William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington on 11 August 1746. Together they had seven children, including Isabella Molyneux, Countess of Sefton and Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p953.htm#i9530|title=Person Page|website=thepeerage.com|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019}} Lady Caroline and her husband were both notorious for their extramarital affairs, but they chose to stay married to prevent the scandal of divorce.{{cite book | title=Royal St. James's: being a story of kings, clubmen and courtesans | first=E. J. | last=Burford | publisher=Hale | year=1988 | isbn=0-7090-3274-9 | page=208}} Lady Caroline was reportedly bisexual and had male and female lovers.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLITDQAAQBAJ&q=lady+harrington+bisexual&pg=PT42|title=Madams: Bawds & Brothel-Keepers of London|first=Fergus|last=Linnane|date=Oct 24, 2011|publisher=The History Press|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9780752473383}}
The New Female Coterie
Due to her rather scandalous reputation in society, Lady Caroline was blackballed from the Female Coterie, an elite social group, affiliated with Almack's, for members of London's high society. Lady Caroline instead founded her own group, The New Female Coterie, which included other members of the British upper class who were shunned by high society due to their reputations, particularly for women who had been guilty of committing adultery.{{cite book | last=Rubenhold | first=Hallie | authorlink=Hallie Rubenhold | title=Lady Worsley's Whim | place=London | publisher=Vintage Books | year=2008 | page=175 }} The meetings were held in a brothel owned by Sarah Prendergast. Seymour Fleming, Lady Worsley, the sister of Lady Caroline's daughter-in-law, was among the members of the new club.
Lady Caroline was nicknamed "Stable Yard Messalina" by the press.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4_WAAAAMAAJ&q=Stable+Yard+Messalina&pg=PA691|title=Catalogue of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum: A.D. 1761 to c. A.D. 1770|first=British Museum Dept of Prints and|last=Drawings|date=Dec 31, 1883|publisher=by order of the Trustees|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1637653&page=1&partId=1&people=127680&searchText=%22Macaronies,+Characters,+Caricatures%22|title=The Stable Y-d Macaroni / Macaronies, Characters, Caricatures &c by MDarly. [1772] (Vol.4)|website=British Museum|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019}} The nickname was a reference to Empress Messalina, the controversial wife of Roman Emperor Claudius, and to the Harrington home in St James's Park, located near the stable yard.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2kTDQAAQBAJ&q=Stable+Yard+Messalina&pg=PT87|title=Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House|first=Susan|last=Law|date=Apr 6, 2015|publisher=The History Press|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9780750964517}} Town & Country published a story accusing her of having affairs with all echelons of society "from a monarch down to a hairdresser."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dd06ozQgrJcC&q=countess+harrington+town+&pg=PA175|title=The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce|first=Hallie|last=Rubenhold|date=Jul 7, 2009|publisher=Macmillan|accessdate=Dec 31, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9780312359942}}
Legacy
Lady Caroline is a subject in the books In Bed with the Georgians: Sex, Scandal & Satire in the 18th Century by Mike Rendell, The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce by Hallie Rubenhold, and Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House by Susan Law.