Julia Peel

Julia, Lady Peel (née Floyd), was born on 19 September 1795 in Trichinopoly, Tamil Nadu, British India. She was the third child of Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet, an army officer involved in the Third Anglo-Mysore War, and his wife, Rebecca Juliana, daughter of merchant Charles Darke. Julia had at least three siblings: an elder sister Miranda, who married Lieutenant-General Sir Joseph Fuller; an elder brother, Major-General Sir Henry Floyd, 2nd Baronet; and a younger sister, Flavia, born in 1797. Flavia died in 1802, and their mother died from the same illness two days later, after which Julia returned to England.

In March 1820, Julia became engaged to Robert Peel, who was then the Chief Secretary for Ireland. They married on 8 June 1820. Robert Peel later served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1834 to 1834 and again from 1841 to 1846. During his premierships, Lady Peel served as his hostess and the spouse of the Prime Minister. Peel also spent several years leading the Opposition alongside the Duke of Wellington. He died in 1850 in a horse riding accident.

Julia Floyd was noted for her personal beauty and was depicted in a portrait titled *Portrait of Julia, Lady Peel* (1827) by Sir Thomas Lawrence, President of the Royal Academy, which is now held in the Frick Collection in New York City.

Lady Peel died unexpectedly during the night of 27/28 October 1859 at her townhouse in Privy Garden, Whitehall. At the time, she was with Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey. Lady Jersey was mourning the recent deaths of her husband George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, on 3 October, and their eldest son, George Child Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey, on 24 October. The 6th Earl of Jersey was married to Julia Floyd’s eldest daughter, Julia Peel. Lady Peel was reportedly suffering from severe anxiety and was grieving the deaths of her son Sir William Peel, who died of smallpox the previous year, and her husband. The cause of her death was believed to be a heart attack induced by stress.

Julia and Robert Peel had seven children:

1. Julia Peel (30 April 1821 – 14 August 1893), who married George Child Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey, on 12 July 1841, producing five children. She later married Charles Brandling on 12 September 1865.

2. Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet (4 May 1822 – 9 May 1895), married Lady Emily Hay on 17 June 1856; they had five children.

3. Sir Frederick Peel (26 October 1823 – 6 June 1906), married Elizabeth Shelley on 12 August 1857, who was a niece of the poet Percy Shelley. After Elizabeth's death in 1865, he married Janet Pleydell-Bouverie on 3 September 1879.

4. Sir William Peel (2 November 1824 – 27 April 1858), a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

5. John Floyd Peel (24 May 1827 – 21 April 1910), married Annie Jenny in 1851.

6. Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel (3 August 1829 – 24 October 1912), married Adelaide Dugdale on 14 August 1862; they had seven children. He was created Viscount Peel in 1895 and was the father of the first Earl Peel.

7. Eliza Peel (circa 1832 – April 1883), married Hon. Francis Stonor on 25 September 1855, with whom she had four children.

References for Julia Floyd's life include Norman Gash’s *Mr Secretary Peel* (2011) and Tresham Lever’s *The Life and Time of Sir Robert Peel* (1942).