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Lot Essay
The sitter, Charlotte, born in 1767, was the only daughter and heiress of the Hon. Robert Walsingham, fifth son of Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon, who took the name Walsingham on his brother's death in 1736. Her mother, also called Charlotte, an accomplished artist and poet, was an intimate of Horace Walpole. Her father rose to the rank of Captain and commanded the Thunderer in Keppel's action against the Comte d'Orvilliers at the battle of Ushant in 1778. He was lost at sea during a hurricane in the West Indies later in the same year.
In 1791 she married Lord Henry Fitzgerald, third son of the Duke of Leinster and a Lieutenant-Colonel in the army. In 1795 she accompanied him to France where she became a friend of Josephine Beauharnais. In 1804 Charlotte returned premanently to Ireland and the following year took the title Baroness de Ros.
In 1791 she married Lord Henry Fitzgerald, third son of the Duke of Leinster and a Lieutenant-Colonel in the army. In 1795 she accompanied him to France where she became a friend of Josephine Beauharnais. In 1804 Charlotte returned premanently to Ireland and the following year took the title Baroness de Ros.