Elizabeth Philippa Biddulph

Elizabeth Philippa Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph (born Lady Elizabeth Yorke, later Lady Elizabeth Adeane; 15 November 1834 – January 1916) was an English humanitarian and temperance leader. She published a biography of her father, Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke, and was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber by Queen Victoria.

Early life

Lady Elizabeth (nickname, "Lady Libbet") Philippa Yorke was born in England, 15 November 1834. She was a daughter and eldest child of the Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke, and Susan, sixth daughter of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. Until her marriage, she lived at Wimpole Hall and was her father's constant companion, sharing in his interests, political and other, including his love of the sea. Her relationships constituted a large social circle, including her mother and her mother's sisters, Lady Normanby, Lady Barrington, and Lady Bloomfield.

Career

In 1860, she married Henry John Adeane, M.P., of Babraham Hall, Cambridgeshire. The couple traveled abroad, and her knowledge of foreign languages, especially of French, which she spoke faultlessly, made foreign travel and society agreeable to her. Italy, she visited more than once with her husband, and after his death; but France was the country of her preference.

After being widowed in 1870, and left to care for their three children, including a son, Charles, Lady Elizabeth was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber by Queen Victoria, who showed her constant kindness, and Lady Elizabeth was present at all the impressive ceremonies, such as the two Jubilees and the marriage of the King and Queen, which marked the closing years of the Queen's reign. She also spent time with her circle of friends, rich and poor. Holidays were enjoyed at Wimpole or at Sydney Lodge, Hamble-le-Rice, the other home of her family on Southampton Water, built for her grandfather, Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke.