COWPER 487 VII. 1856. 7. Francis Thomas de Grey (Cowper), Eari. CowPER [1718], Viscount Fordwich [1718], Baron Cowper of Wingham [1706], also a Baronet [E. and S.], s. and h. He also became, 15 Aus;. 1871, LORD DINGWALL [S. 1609], and LORD BUTLER OF MOORE PARK, co. Hertford [1666] (being declared at that date by the House of Lords to be entitled as heir gen. to those two Baronies, of which the attainder [17 15] had been reversed on the 31 July previous), and who also became, 23 July 1880, by the death of his mother abovenamed, BARON LUCAS OF CRUDWELL [1663]. He was b. in Berkeley Sq., 11 June, and bap. 9 July 1834, at St. Geo., Han. Sq.; ed. at Harrow school; matric. at Oxford (Ch. Ch.), 3 June 1852, ist Class in Law and Mod. History, 1855, M.A. 1861; Lord Lieut, and Custos Rot. of Beds, 1861 till his death; Envoy Extraordinary to Denmark for the investiture, at Copenhagen, 25 Apr. 1865, of King Christiern IX with the Order of the Garter,(^) Knight Grand Cross of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog, 1865; K.G., 5 Aug. 1865; Trustee of the Nat. Portrait Gallery 1869-74; P.C. 16 May 1871; Capt. of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, 1871-74; Lord Lieut, of Ireland, May 1880 to May 1882; High Steward of Colchester, 1883. He ;«., 25 Oct. 1870, at All Saints', Ennismore Gardens, Katrine Cecilia, C*) ist da. of William (Compton), 4th Marquess of Northampton, by Eliza, da. of Adm. the Hon. Sir George Elliot, K.C.B. He cl. s.p., at Panshanger, after an operation, 19, and was bur. 22 July 1905, at Hertingfordbury, aged 71, when the Earldom of Cowper and Viscountcy of Fordwich [17 18] as also the Barony of Cowper [1706] and his Imperial title became extinct, and the Barony of Butler [1666] fell into abeyance, while the Barony of Dingwall [S. 1609] and the Barony of Lucas [1663] devolved on his h. gen. Will pr. over
- ^ 1, 079,000 gross and over ;('358,ooo net personalty.() His widow, who
was b. 26 July 1845, '^^ Castle Ashby, d. of bronchitis, at Cannes, 23 Mar., and was bur. 3 Apr. 19 13, at Hertingfordbury, Herts, aged 68. lady, most hospitable and kind, and her dinners were stately ceremonies." {Memories of Fifty y~ears, by Lady St. Helier, 1909, pp. 91-2). "An incessant talker, she never for a second became wearisome; and although seeing people and things from a sarcastic point, she never said an ill-natured or unkind word. Her fun was of that best and rarest kind which is perfectly unforced, and she enjo)'ed a laugh against herself as much as if it had concerned another. During all her long years of widowhood she always wore a plain black gown and widow's cap, and although so homely in outward appear- ance, one could not ... be with her for any time without discovering in this plain, modestly-attired lady that she was thoroughly grande dame." (Lord Ronald Gower's Reminiscences). V.G. (^) See an account of these special Garter missions, in vol. ii, Appendix B. () " Beautiful and very attractixe in her wa)S." (J. L. Modey, 8 June 1873). V.G. C^) "A very attractive man. He had a fine head and figure though there was a certain softness in both. . . . He had courteous manners, rather of the old school, a capable intellect with a good deal of historical knowledge, and an interest in literature which made him a very agreeable companion. Besides these qualities there was in him a sort of stately kindliness." {Notes from the Life of an Ordinary Mortal,
