Georgiana Spencer was born at Althorp, Northamptonshire on the 7th of June 1757, the eldest child to the first Earl Spencer and Countess Spencer. A sister was soon born, Harriet, in 1761, but Countess Spencer declared her a "little ugly girl", and a brother followed, George. The bond was always strongest between Georgiana and her mother, a bond that continued all the way through Georgiana's life. At 17 Georgiana wrote to her mother "you are my best friend".
When Georgiana was 7 the family moved into the newly built Spencer House on Green Park, rather strangely just two minutes walk from the house where she would spend most of her married life.
Georgiana's parents were socialites and here at Spencer house they would entertain the celebrities of the day including the celebrated actor David Garrick. Georgiana remembered the parties going on long into the night, and despite her mother's later deep Christian beliefs, the wine flowed freely and fortunes were won and lost on the gambling tables. Of course these vices were to affect Georgiana deeply in later life and her family history shows a long life of addiction.
The young Georgiana's education was to polish her, but not overly educate. She studied harp-playing and drawing, geography and languages and writing, mastering all easily. She was a natural at learning court ettiquette from her mother and loved to perform plays and stories she had written. This meant her sister Harriet had to be content in the shadows of Georgiana, and played the role of her lady-in-waiting, as she did through life.
Tragedy hit the Spencers, the Countess losing two more children before their 1st birthday. The Countess became very religious and at the same time increasingly obsessed with gambling. The Earl became ill, and it was thought best to take him to the continent. When the spa waters did nothing to ease him, the Countess put her wifely duties before being a mother and left Georgiana with her Granmother in Antwerp, where she spent a year.
Georgiana was so shocked at being left she became very eager to please, to make sure no-one would ever leave her again. Some of the self-confidence which had first marked her out was beginning to ebb, and this would be a down fall in later years, making her easy to manipulate.
The radiant Georgiana returned to England, and by the age of 14, people were already speculating on her husband...
The young Georgiana had yet to fall in love, and was so eager to please her parents. Suitors could see the young girl was a good match, click on the jewel to find out who picked the blooming Georgiana from the garden. However, not all suitors are shining jewels or romantic heroes....
