Portrait of Lady Diana Spencer (1743-1808) 2nd Viscountess Bolingbroke, 19th Century

Charcoal portrait after a painting of Lady Diana Spencer by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Lady Di, as she was widely known, was the daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough. She married the wealthy young bachelor Frederick 2nd Vsct. Bolingbroke in 1757 and the couple had two sons, George Richard and Frederick St. John.

Between 1762 and 1768 Lady Di was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte. This came to an end when her husbands well known infidelity and bad temper saw her break with tradition and openly engage in an affair. Frederick reacted by suing for divorce which required an Act of Parliament, but was quickly achieved in 1768. Lady Di promptly married her lover, a friend of Dr Johnson and Horace Walpole, Topham Beauclerk.

As Lady Beauclerk, Diana gained a reputation as a society artist, illustrating publications and undertaking numerous commissions including designs for the firm of Wedgewood. Her paintings were much admired at the time and many were reproduced in the form of engravings. Lydiard House is unique in having an important selection of her work on public display.

The Lydiard portrait is frequently likened to photographs of the late Princess Diana of Wales who shared a common ancestry with Lydiard's Lady Di.