Princess Lieven

Dorothea Christorovna Benckendorff:1785-1857.

• 1785: born in in Riga, Latvia (then Russia)
• 1799: appointed Maid of Honour to Empress
• 1800: married Russian Lieutenant-General Count Lieven (1773-)
• 1809: Count Lieven appointed Russian Envoy to Prussian Court
• 1811: Count Lieven appointed Russian Ambassador to the Court of St. James's
• 1834: Count Lieven recalled to Russia and the Countess resumes her duties as Lady in Waiting
• Count appointed Prince
• Move to Paris
• 1848: returned to England. 
• 1850: returned to Paris
• 1857: died in rue Saint-Florentin on 26 January

Count Lieven's appointment to St James's had the object of improving relations between Russia and Britain; not a difficult task between former allies, though the countries drifted apart again towards the end of his tenure.. 

The couple were socially and politically active, and  were intimate with many leading politicians, including Wellington, Canning, Palmerston and Peel. Princess Lieven would, however, be little remembered if it were not for the incisive letters she wrote to her brother General Alexander Benckendorff. A natural, and at times wicked, gossip, her letters give a valuable, but not unbiased, insight into early nineteenth century London society. Lionel Robinson, the translator and editor of her letters, describes her thus:

Her cleverness was generally recognized, but her tact was shown rather in her fastidiousness than by her geniality, and the impression she produced was that she as fully conscious of her own superiority as she was of the inferiority of those with whom she was brought in daily contact. (Robinson, p viii).

The Duke of Wellington was less polite:

I have no doubt the inclination of the lady to do this country all the mischief in her power in return for much kindness and good will with which she was treated during a long residence here. 

And:

She can and will betray everyone in turn, if it should suit her purpose. (cited by Robinson, p ix).

Although she wrote a weekly account to the Russian Empress-Mother giving the gossip of the Court of St James's, the extent to which the right-wing Countess Lieven was politically powerful during the Regency and reign of George IV is debateable. Her social power in not in doubt and she was one of the patronesses who controlled access to the fashionable Almack's Assembly Rooms. She also introduced the waltz to the Rooms.