Mary Stuart, Countess Of Bute

Mary Stuart, Countess of Bute, 1st Baroness Mount Stuart (née Wortley Montagu), was born on 19 January 1718 in Constantinople. She was the only daughter of Sir Edward Wortley Montagu and Lady Mary Pierrepont, who was the daughter of Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull. Her birth occurred during her father’s diplomatic service as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Her mother documented their time in Turkey in a collection of letters titled "Letters from Turkey," which Lady Bute later burned, a decision that drew disapproval from historians.

On 24 August 1736, she married John Stuart, who would later become the 3rd Earl of Bute and serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763. The marriage produced a total of eleven children: five sons and six daughters. Their children included Lady Mary Stuart, who married James Lowther, later the Earl of Lonsdale, in 1761; John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuart, who succeeded as the 4th Earl of Bute and was later created Marquess of Bute; Lady Anne Stuart, who married Hugh Percy, later the 2nd Duke of Northumberland, in 1764; The Hon. James Archibald Stuart, a politician and author; Lady Augusta Stuart, who married Andrew Corbett; Lady Jane Stuart, who married George Macartney, later Earl Macartney, in 1768; The Hon. Frederick Stuart, a politician who died unmarried; The Hon. Charles Stuart, a soldier and politician; William Stuart, who became Archbishop of Armagh; Lady Caroline Stuart, who married The Hon. John Dawson, later the 1st Earl of Portarlington; Lady Louisa Stuart, a writer; and The Hon. William Stuart, also a politician.

In 1761, she was created Baroness Mount Stuart of Wortley in the county of York, with a remainder to her male heirs by her husband. This peerage conferred upon her a noble title that could be inherited by her sons. Lady Bute died on 6 November 1794 in Isleworth, Middlesex. Her eldest son succeeded to her titles.

Contemporaneous perceptions of Lady Bute describe her as a woman of good sense and civility. In a 1774 letter, Mary Delany referred to her as agreeable, noting her good principles and tact. Scholar Karl Wolfgang Schweizer characterized her as a woman of prudence, loyalty, and discretion, emphasizing her devotion to her family and her husband's interests.