Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham
Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham was the wife of William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham, who was prime minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768.
The sister of George Grenville, who was prime minister from 1763 to 1765, she was also the mother of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and a niece of the noted Whig politician Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, who had served as her husband's mentor.
Chatham and Elizabeth Grenville, her sister-in-law, are the only two women in British history to have been both the wife of a prime minister and the mother of another prime minister.
Early life
Born on 8 November 1720 in London, she was the only daughter of Richard Grenville and Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple.Marriage
At 34, Lady Hester married Whig politician William Pitt on 16 November 1754 at her home in Argyle Street, London, by Francis Ayscough under special licence. They had five children:- Lady Hester Pitt, who married Viscount Mahon, later the 3rd Earl Stanhope, on 19 December 1774; three children, including the traveler and Arabist Lady Hester Stanhope.
- John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, who married The Hon. Mary Townshend; no issue.
- Lady Harriet Pitt, who married The Hon. Edward James Eliot, oldest son of the 1st Baron Eliot, in 1785; one child.
- Hon. William Pitt the Younger, who also served as prime minister; never married.
- Hon. James Charles Pitt, Royal Navy officer and died in Antigua; never married.