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Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry ( née Gunning; 15 August 1732 – 30 September 1760) was a famous Irish beauty and London society hostess during the reign of King George II. She died at a young age due to lead and mercury poisoning from toxins in her beauty regimen.
So how did two unknown girls, lacking in fortune and connections, ever reach these dizzy heights? The sisters were born around 1733 in Hemingford Grey in Huntingdonshire, the daughters of an Irishman called John Gunning and his wife the Honourable Bridget Bourke.
Elizabeth's elder sister was Maria Gunning, later Countess of Coventry. In late 1740 or early 1741, the Gunning family returned from England to John Gunning's ancestral home in Ireland, where they divided their time between their country house in Roscommon and a rented town house in Dublin.
- John Gunning
- Hon. Bridget Bourke
In 1751, the Gunning sisters were introduced at the Dublin Court. Their captivating beauty was an instant sensation, leading to an invitation to London by the then Earl of Harrington. Upon their arrival, London society was abuzz. Their beauty wasn’t just whispered about; it became an epochal event. Marriage to the Earl of Coventry.
3 de jul. de 2015 · Which makes the story of the Gunning sisters, Maria and Elizabeth all the more unusual. The two sisters were genteel nobodies: the daughters of an Irishman with neither money nor connections, and yet they did have one attribute in abundance – they were great beauties.
Summer1751. The Gunning sisters arrived in London from Ireland, and created a sensation with their beauty: Maria was aged around seventeen and Elizabeth was a year younger. 30 September 1760. Lady Coventry (formerly the beautiful Maria Gunning) died, allegedly of the effects of white lead cosmetics. 10 March 1768.
1733-1760. Biography. One of the two Gunning sisters, both famous beauties who made splendid marriages. They were daughters of John Gunning (qq.v.) in Ireland. Maria became first wife of George William Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry. Her sister became Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Hamilton and Argyll. 43 related objects.
