The Right Honourable The Countess of Albemarle
Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Born	Lady Anne Lennox (1703-06-24)24 June 1703
Died	20 October 1789(1789-10-20) (aged 86)
Spouse	William Anne Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (m. 1722; died 1754)
Children	George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel Hon. William Keppel Hon. Frederick Keppel Lady Caroline Adair Elizabeth Russell, Marchioness of Tavistock
Parent(s)	Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond Anne Brudenell
Relatives	Charles II of England (paternal grandfather)

Anne van Keppel (24 June 1703 – 20 October 1789) born Lady Anne Lennox, was a British court official and noble, the daughter of the 1st Duke of Richmond and Anne Brudenell. Her father Charles was an illegitimate child of King Charles II, thus making her the king's granddaughter.^[1]

Marriage and children

On 21 February 1722, she married the 2nd Earl of Albemarle at Caversham, Oxfordshire (now Berkshire), whereupon she became Countess of Albemarle. She was mother to six children:^[1]

George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle (1724–1772)
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel (1725–1786)
Lt.-Gen. Hon. William Keppel (1727–1782)
Rt. Rev. Hon. Frederick Keppel (1728–1777)
Lady Caroline Keppel (1734–1769), who married Robert Adair
Lady Elizabeth Keppel (1739–1768), who married Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock.

From 1725 to 1737, she was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Caroline. Anne died in 1789 at Admiralty House aged 86.^[1]

Philanthropy

The Countess was 'one of 21 ladies of quality and distinction' who signed a petition in 1735 calling for the establishment of the Foundling Hospital in London, UK.^[2] The petition was presented to King George II by philanthropist Thomas Coram and although it was initially rejected, it was instrumental in gaining further support for the children's home which was granted a royal charter in 1739.^[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle

8. Charles I of England

4. Charles II of England

9. Henrietta Maria of France

2. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond

10. Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kérouaille

5. Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth

11. Marie de Ploeuc de Timeur

1. Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle

12. Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan

6. Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell

13. Anne Savage

3. Anne Brudenell

14. Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex

7. Frances Savile

15. Anne Villiers

References

^ ^a ^b ^c G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 94.
^ Fund, Art. "The Foundling Museum: Putting women back in the picture". Art Fund. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
^ "Campaigning for children | Coram". www.coram.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2018.