Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke

Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (born Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova; Russian: Екатерина Семёновна Воронцова; 24 October 1783 – 27 March 1856), was a Russian noblewoman who married the 11th Earl of Pembroke.

The Right Honourable The Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery
Portrait of Lady Pembroke, by Sir Henry Raeburn, c. 1810s
Born	Countess Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova (1783-10-24)24 October 1783 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	27 March 1856(1856-03-27) (aged 72)
Spouse	George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke ​ ​ (m. 1808; died 1827)​
Children	Elizabeth Meade, Countess of Clanwilliam Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea Mary Brudenell-Bruce, Marchioness of Ailesbury Catherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore Georgiana Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne Emma Vesey, Viscountess de Vesci
Parent(s)	Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (father) Ekaterina Alekseevna Seniavina (mother)
Relatives	Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (brother)

Early life

She was born in Saint Petersburg, the daughter of Ekaterina Alekseevna Seniavina and Count Semyon Vorontsov (sometimes spelt Woronzow), the Russian Ambassador in Britain from 1785 to 1806. She was the only sister of Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, Viceroy of New Russia and Caucasus.^[1]

She was a niece of Imperial Chancellor Alexander Vorontsov, Elizaveta Vorontsova and Princess Dashkova, a friend of Catherine the Great and a conspirator in the coup d'état that deposed Tsar Peter III and put his wife on the throne.^[2]

Personal life

In 1808, she married lieutenant general George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke as his second wife and became Countess of Pembroke, the châtelaine of Wilton House, Wiltshire.^[3] From 1807 until his death in 1827, he served as Governor of Guernsey. Together, they were the parents of:^[4]

• Lady Elizabeth Herbert (1809–1858), who married Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam, had issue.^[4]
• Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea (1810–1861), who married Mary Elizabeth Ashe à Court-Repington, had issue.^[4]
• Lady Mary Herbert (1813–1892), who married George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury, no issue.^[4]
• Lady Catherine Herbert (1814–1886), who married Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore, had issue.^[4]
• Lady Georgiana Herbert (1817–1841), who married Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne, no issue.^[4]
• Lady Emma Herbert (1819–1884), who married Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci, had issue.^[4]

Lady Pembroke died on 27 March 1856. Upon her husband's death, the earldoms were inherited by his son from his first marriage, Robert Herbert. The current Earl of Pembroke, however, descends from Catherine's son Sidney his second son who inherited the title in 1895.

Interests

One source describes her as a linguist and musician.^[5] Her letters show her to have been a shrewd observer of European politics.^{[citation needed]}