Harriet and her elder sister, Georgiana. The birth of the long-desired heir, Harriet's brother William, arrived in 1790 after 16 years of marriage. As Harriet was neither the eldest nor the desired male heir, she was probably the least favorite of her parents' three children. She had a somewhat uneasy relationship with her father throughout his life. In her early years she was devoted to her loving mother, though this relationship suffered a temporary setback in the 1790s. The Duchess, pregnant by the future prime minister Charles Grey, was forced to move abroad and give birth in secret. A two-year separation ensued before she saw her children again, and upon her return she observed that eight-year-old Harriet had become reserved and irritable. One biographer posits that this reticence carried into adulthood during "situations of great difficulty and tragedy", when Harriet would hide her emotions even from those to whom she was usually close. Upbringing and first London season The Duke had two illegitimate children with Elizabeth Foster; they were raised alongside the legitimate Cavendishes. Harriet and her siblings, who did not understand why Elizabeth resided with them, disliked her; they also held antipathy for her two teenage sons from a previous marriage, who joined the household in 1796. The Dowager Countess Spencer felt the Devonshire household was amoral and took a prominent role in her grandchildren's upbringing. When Harriet was three, Lady Spencer hired Miss Selina Trimmer as their new governess. Selina agreed with Lady Spencer that in order to protect the children, the Devonshire household required moral guidance. Deeply religious, Selina encouraged her charges to be morally principled and pious, and strove to provide a stable upbringing with a good education. Though she was often severe, the Cavendish children came to view their governess with affection. Selina became another mother figure in Harriet's life, and had a lasting impact on her piety, which especially thrived in later life. Harriet began writing letters from a young age; early topics included the activities of family members, and thoughts on the books she was reading. As she grew older it became readily apparent to all, including herself, that she lacked her mother's beauty and slim figure. But she was intelligent and witty in conversation, and did not have her sister's shyness. While Georgiana's first London season quickly drew two eligible admirers and ended in marriage to one of them in 1801, Harriet's