Frances Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn

Before her marriage, Lady Frances served as one of the trainbearers at the coronation of Queen Victoria, and she also served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of the queen to Prince Albert in 1840. Lady Frances married Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn, the son and heir of the 3rd Earl of Roden, in 1841, and became a Lady of the Bedchamber to the queen later that year. Lady Jocelyn later turned to photography, focusing on domesticity, a subject that was common for women photographers in the Victorian era. The Encyclopaedia of Nineteenth-century Photography has written that her photographic collages – collections of cut-up images re-inserted onto painted backdrops – and use of watercolours "subverted the realistic nature of photography".

• Name — Frances Cowper • Title — Viscountess Jocelyn • More — no • Spouse Type — Husband • Issue — Edith Gore, Viscountess Sudley Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden • Full Name — Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper • House Type — nobility • Father — Peter Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper • Mother — Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper • Born — 9 February 1820 • Birthplace — London, England • Place of death — Cannes, France

Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper was born in 1820, the youngest daughter of Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper, a daughter of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. Her paternity was officially attributed to Lady Cowper's husband, the 5th Earl Cowper. However, the historian K. D. Reynolds and others have argued that Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston was actually the father of Lady Frances and her brother William. Once widowed, her mother married Palmerston, though Lady Frances did not care for him. He became Prime Minister in 1859.

• Illustration — Lady Frances (far right) at the opera with Queen Victoria (far left) and other European Royals, 1857 In 1838, Lady Frances served as a maid of honour at the Coronation of Queen Victoria, and she also served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of the queen to Prince Albert in 1840. It was expected that Lady Frances would secure a good marriage, being considered a great beauty. On 9 April 1841, Lady Frances married the politician Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn, the eldest son and heir of the 3rd Earl of Roden. He was born on 20 February 1816, making him four years older than his wife. Now by courtesy a viscountess, Lady Jocelyn was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to the queen later that year, holding that position until 1867. The Cowper family was secular, while Lord Jocelyn's family was considered sternly religious. Upon their marriage, they moved to Northern Ireland to live on his family's estate. They had five children together. Lord Jocelyn was staying in the Tower of London in preparation for departure to the Crimea when he contracted cholera. After his subsequent death in 1854 at the Palmerstons' house, Lady Jocelyn blamed herself and went into isolation, limiting her contact largely towards her children. After her daughter Alice's death in 1867, she looked after Alice's children as well. Her eldest son Robert succeeded his grandfather in 1870 as Earl of Roden.

Lord and Lady Jocelyn had five children: • Hon. Victoria Alexandrina Emily Jocelyn (23 September 1842 – 7 September 1843) • Hon. Alice Maria Jocelyn (2 December 1843 – 29 November 1867) • Hon. Edith Elizabeth Henrietta Jocelyn (10 February 1845 – 3 October 1871), married Arthur Gore, Viscount Sudley (later Earl of Arran). • Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden (20 March 1846 – 10 January 1880) • Hon. Frederick Spencer Jocelyn (11 July 1852 – 12 November 1871)