Frances Talbot, Countess of Tyrconnel Totally Explained

Everything about Frances Talbot Countess Of Tyrconnel totally explained

Frances Talbot, Countess of Tyrconnel, née Frances Jennings, (frequently called Duchess of Tyrconnel) (c. 1647 - March 9 1730) was the daughter of Richard Jenyns and Frances Thornhurst. She was born at Sandridge, Hertfordshire, England.
Frances and her sister, Sarah Jennings were noteworthy figures at the English Restoration-era court. Frances' beauty earned her the nickname of "La Belle Jennings". Macaulay describes her as “beautiful Fanny Jennings, the loveliest coquette in the brilliant Whitehall of the Restoration". In 1664, Frances was appointed maid of honour to the Duchess of York, Anne Hyde. Pepys records an incident in which she disguised herself as an orange seller, but was eventualy recognised because of her expensive shoes.
In 1665, Frances married Sir George Hamilton, son of Sir George Hamilton, 1st Baronet and Mary Butler. With him, she'd two daughters:

Frances, who married Henry Dillon, 8th Viscount Dillon in 1687, and
Mary, (1676–1736) who married Nicholas Barnewall, 3rd Viscount Barnewall in 1688.

After Hamilton's death, Frances married an old suitor she'd previously rejected, Richard Talbot in 1681. Talbot was later created Earl of Tyrconnel in the Irish peerage and subsequently Duke of Tyrconnel, although this last title was bestowed by James II after the Glorious Revolution and wasn't widely recognised. They had no children.
   Her husband was appointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland and the couple lived in Dublin. Following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne, the King fled to their home and was met by Frances. King James remarked, ‘Your countrymen, madam, can run well’. She replied ‘Not quite so well as your majesty, for I see that you've won the race’.
   After her husband's death in 1691, Frances was reduced to poverty and for a while, she'd a dressmaker’s stall near the Royal Exchange. She dressed in white with her face covered by a white mask and was described as "the white milliner". In the 1840s, this was dramatised and performed as a play at Covent Garden.
   Following the accession of Queen Anne, Frances (and her step-daughter, Charlotte Talbot) had some of her husband’s former property restored to them by act of parliament — presumably assisted by her sister’s influence with the queen. She eventually retired to and died in the Poor Clares nunnery in Dublin. She was buried in St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.
   A biography of Frances and her second husband - Little Jennings and Fighting Dick Talbot: A Life of the Duke and Duchess of Tyrconnel - by Philip Sergeant was published in 1913.

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