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Season 2, Episode 3 16:46 running time

Georgiana and Diana

In this episode, we look at what it is to be a woman in the full glare of the media and public view.

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Hosted by

Doctor Shama Rahman

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Sound Editing

Viel Richardson

Listen now:
  • Kensington Palace, London
  • Devonshire House, London

Parallel Lives

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Written by

Holly Harland

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Performed by

Dame Joanna Lumley

About this story

Two women, relatives, one born in 1757, the other in 1961 are in some ways remarkably similar. We compare the biographies of Princess Diana, King Charles’s first wife, and her ancestor Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire.

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The US National Gallery of Art in Washington DC has a Thomas Gainsborough portrait of Georgiana. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire – Amanda Foreman, published by Harper Collins, 1998, is a great biography of Georgiana Spencer. The film 2008 film The Duchess starring Keira Knightly as Georgiana, is based on this book.The New York Times considers the above film and compares Diana and Georgiana.

  • Tavistock Street, London

She Had to Sit on the Floor

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Written by

Holly Harland

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Performed by

Zak Ghazi-Torbati

About this story

Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, is one of the first celebrity fashion icons. The rise of newspaper reporting in the 18th-Century, and her place in political and elite society means women covet her looks and want to copy her style.

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Sotheby’s have an article about Georgiana’s fashion influence including this gem, about her followers desperate to have ostrich feathers for their hairstyles: ‘Feathers were so scarce in England that fashionable women resorted to bribing undertakers for their horses’ plumage.’ Pen and Pension have a recipe for an 18th Century pomade (a greasy substance used to style hair) using lard. The Fashion Historian has several pictures of high 18th Century hairstyles – including one with a model ship.

  • Henrietta Street, London
  • Southampton Street, London
  • Tavistock Street, London
  • Piazza, Covent Garden, London

Votes for Kisses

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Written by

Holly Harland

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Performed by

Kate Reid

About this story

Although women couldn’t vote, Georgiana Spencer threw herself into electioneering in the 1784 polls, to the delight of the newspapers.

Delve Deeper

Learn more about this story’s themes with these links:


Alamy has a cartoon of the Duchess of Devonshire kissing a voter, from a period newspaper. A Voice of Discontent: A Woman’s Journey Through the Long Eighteenth Century by Jennifer C. Kelsey, published by Troubadour 2008, discusses the prejudices women faced during that period. Regency History has an article about the general election of 1784, explaining the parties involved and the voting system of the time.