Life As A Courtesan in England
Lord Cholmondeley, one of her many benefactors, rescued her and brought her back to London where she became mistress and courtesan to several prominent and wealthy men.
Thomas Gainsborough painted her portrait in 1778 and this is now on display in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1782, she had a quiet and short intrigue with the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV), and gave birth to a daughter who used the name Georgina Seymour (1782–1813) but was baptised at St Marylebone as 'Georgina Frederica Augusta Elliott Daughter of His Royal Highness George Prince of Wales & Grace Elliott'. Grace was being kept by Lord Cholmondeley but declared that the Prince was the father of her child and the Morning Post said in January 1782 that he admitted responsibility. However, when the child, which was very dark, was first shown to the Prince he is said to have remarked, "To convince me that this is my girl they must first prove that black is white". The Prince and many others regarded Lord Cholmondeley as the father, though the Prince's friends said that Charles William Wyndham (brother of Lord Egremont), whom she was thought to resemble, claimed paternity. Yet others thought she might have been fathered by George Selwyn. Lord Cholmondeley brought up the girl and, after her early death in 1813, looked after her only child.
Read more about this topic: Grace Elliott
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