George Coventry, 8th Earl of Coventry

George William Coventry, 8th Earl of Coventry (16 October 1784 – 15 May 1843), styled Viscount Deerhurst from 1809 to 1831, was a British peer and Tory Member of Parliament.

Early life Coventry was the eldest son of George Coventry, 7th Earl of Coventry, and his wife Peggy (née Pitches). His younger brother was the Hon. William Coventry and his sisters were Lady Augusta Coventry (wife of Gen. Sir Willoughby Cotton), Lady Barbara Coventry (wife of Lt. Col. Alexander Gregan-Crauford) and Lady Sophia Coventry (wife of Sir Roger Gresley, 3rd Bt and Sir William Des Voeux, 3rd Bt).

He was elected to the House of Commons as one of two representatives for Worcester in 1816, a seat he held until 1826. In 1831, he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. In 1838, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire.

Personal life On 16 January 1808, Lord Coventry married the Hon. Emma Susanna Lygon, daughter of William Lygon, 2nd Baron Beauchamp, subsequently created 1st Earl Beauchamp. At around the time of his marriage, he was also involved with Sophia Dubochet, a girl in her early teens with whom he eloped and whom he subsequently kept as a mistress while she was courted by Thomas Noel Hill, 2nd Baron Berwick, who married her in 1812. Her relationship with Coventry (then Viscount Deerhurst) is recorded in some detail by Sophia's sister, the noted courtesan Harriette Wilson. Before her death in 1810, Emma and George were the parents of: Together, they were the parents of:

His granddaughter, Mary Augusta Henrietta Coventry (1841–1894), married John Turner Hopwood. Their nine children included the lyricist and novelist Aubrey Hopwood (1863–1917) and the Royal Navy officer Ronald Hopwood (1868–1949). His great-granddaughter, Geraldine Sarah Ponsonby (d. 1944), married Dermot Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo.