Charlotte Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey

The Marquess of Anglesey, by George Dawe

In 1810, Wellesley divorced Charlotte by an Act of Parliament on the grounds of her adultery with Lord Paget (the eldest son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge). It was claimed that Paget had pursued her ruthlessly and that she had asked her husband to stay close to her in public "for the express purpose of avoiding Lord P's importunities".[6]

At the divorce trial, several witnesses stated that the couple had an affectionate relationship.[7] Charlotte's brother Henry Cadogan challenged Paget to a duel; honour was satisfied, though neither was injured.[8] Following the divorce, Wellesley was awarded £24,000 in damages against Paget.[7] Referring to the incident in later years, when Paget, now Lord Uxbridge, was assigned to Wellington as his second-in-command at the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington is said to have commented: "Lord Uxbridge has the reputation of running away with everybody he can. I’ll take good care he don’t run away with me.”[9]

In 1810, following Paget's divorce by his wife Caroline, Lady Charlotte and Paget were married.[10] Together, Charlotte and her second husband had ten children, of whom seven survived infancy, including:[11]

• Lady Emily Caroline Paget (1810–1893), who married John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney.[11]
• Admiral Lord Sir Clarence Edward Paget (1811–1895), who married Martha Stuart, the youngest daughter of Admiral Sir Robert Otway.[11]
• Lady Mary Paget (1812–1859), who married John Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich.[11]
• General Lord Alfred Henry Paget (1816–1888), MP for Lichfield who married Cecilia Wyndham, second daughter and co-heiress of George Thomas Wyndham of Cromer Hall.[11]
• General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget (1818–1880), who married his first cousin Agnes Charlotte, daughter of Sir Arthur Paget. After her death, he married Louisa Elizabeth Heneage, daughter of Charles Fieschi Heneage. After he died in 1880, his widow remarried to Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex.[11]
• Lady Adelaide Paget (1820–1890), who married Frederick William Cadogan, a son of George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan. As Lady Adelaide Cadogan, she wrote the first book of Patience in English.[11]

Her second husband succeeded his father as Earl of Uxbridge on 13 March 1812, and Lady Charlotte became the Countess of Uxbridge and upon his elevation to a marquessate on 4 July 1815, she became the Marchioness of Anglesey.[11] In January 1828, many years after their divorce and Wellesley's remarriage, he was created Baron Cowley of Wellesley in the County of Somerset, due to his brother's influence with the prime minister, Lord Goderich.[5]

The Marchioness of Anglesey died on 8 July 1853. Her widower, the Marquess of Anglesey, died at Uxbridge House in London on 29 April 1854.