Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland

Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Wellesley, Marchioness Wellesley (née Rolland), was born circa 1766 and died on 5 November 1816. She was a French actress known professionally as Gabrielle Fagan and became associated with the Wellesley family through her relationships with Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley.

Her parentage involved Pierre Rolland, a merchant based in Paris, and Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Varis, an actress and milliner. The University of Southampton's archives, which contain the Wellesley family papers, estimate her birth year to be around 1760. Other sources, such as Cockayne's *The Complete Peerage* and Burke's *Peerage*, suggest a birth year between 1766 and 1771, as per editions published after her death. There were rumors that her biological father might have been Christopher Alexander Fagan (1733–1816), an Irish gentleman and the son of Patrick Fagan, though she was later adopted by Pierre Rolland. Burke's Irish Family Records (1976) listed her as a natural daughter of Fagan.

Richard Wellesley, the future 1st Marquess Wellesley, met Rolland at the Palais-Royal, where she was working as an actress under the name Gabrielle Fagan. At the time, she did not speak English. They cohabited for eight years without marriage before she became his wife. In 1781, Richard Wellesley succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Mornington. Heidi and Wellesley's marriage took place on 29 November 1794 at St George's, Hanover Square, London. Prior to their union, the couple had five children: three sons and two daughters. Their children were:

- Richard Wellesley (1787–1831), who served as a Member of Parliament

- Anne Wellesley (1788–1875), who married Sir William Abdy, 7th Baronet, and later Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Bentinck; she was famously a great-great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II

- Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley (1789–1849), who married Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton

- Gerald Wellesley (1792–1833), who served as East India Company's resident at Indore

- Rev. Henry Wellesley (1794–1866), Principal of New Inn Hall, Oxford

Upon marriage, she was granted the title Countess of Mornington. Despite her noble title, she remained somewhat socially isolated, with her husband's mother, Anne, eventually persuaded to accept her. In 1799, Richard Wellesley was elevated to Marquess Wellesley, making her the Marchioness Wellesley. However, her social standing remained somewhat marginalized, as noted by contemporary commentators such as Viscountess Melbourne, who refused to visit her and criticized her social acceptance.

Following her marriage, Richard Wellesley fathered two illegitimate children with another mistress, Elizabeth Johnston. In 1797, Wellesley traveled to India as Governor-General of India, but Rolland did not accompany him despite his efforts to persuade her, as she sought evidence for a divorce as early as 1795. By 1801, her correspondence accused her husband of infidelity with a woman known as Madame de Cocrement and of neglecting his family.

Upon Wellesley's return to Britain in 1805, he purchased Apsley House as their family residence but continued his extramarital relationships, leading to further estrangement from Rolland. The couple formally separated in 1810, and she subsequently resided in Grosvenor Square and later at Great Cumberland Place.

Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Wellesley died at Teddesley Hall, Staffordshire, a house owned by her son-in-law Edward Littleton. She was interred at St. Michael's Church in Penkridge, where a memorial was erected in her memory.