Emily Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne


Emily Jane Mercer Elphinstone Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne and 8th Lady Nairne was a British peeress.
Born in Edinburgh, Emily Jane de Flahaut was the eldest daughter of the French Army general and statesman, Count Charles de Flahaut by his wife, Countess Margaret, Baroness Keith.
On 1 November 1843, at the British embassy in Vienna, she married Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne. They had three children:
In 1863, her husband inherited his father's marquessate, whereby she became Marchioness of Lansdowne. Although she was unable to inherit her mother's title "Baroness Keith" as remainder was restricted to male heirs of her mother, she was, however, recognised by the House of Lords as the 8th Lady Nairne in 1874, her mother having inherited the title from the latter's cousin in 1837.
On her death at Meikleour House in 1895, her family title of Nairne devolved upon her eldest son.
In 1834, when she was aged only 15, Frédéric Chopin published his Boléro, Op. 19, with a dedication to her.