Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington

Caroline Stanhope
Countess of Harrington
Portrait of Lady Caroline FitzRoy by Richard Cosway
BornCaroline FitzRoy
8 April 1722
Died26 June 1784
Noble familyFitzRoy (by birth)
Stanhope (by marriage)
Spouse(s)
(m. 1746; died 1779)
IssueIsabella Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington
FatherCharles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton
MotherLady Henrietta Somerset
OccupationSocialite, demimondaine

Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (née Lady Caroline FitzRoy; 8 April 1722 – 26 June 1784) was a British socialite and demimondaine. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Charles II. After being blackballed by the English social group The Female Coterie, she founded The New Female Coterie, a social club of courtesans and "fallen women" that met in a brothel. Known for her infidelity and bisexuality, she was nicknamed the "Stable Yard Messalina" due to her adulterous lifestyle. Her "colourful" life is often contrasted with that of her daughter-in-law, Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, who was viewed as a respectable member of British high society.