The Honourable Mary Bulteel
later Lady Mary Ponsonby
(1832-1916)

The Honourable Mary Elizabeth Bulteel was a royal courtier and an advocate of women’s advancement. Born in 1832, she was the eldest daughter of John Crocker Bulteel, MP, and granddaughter of the 2nd Earl Grey. 

From 1853 to 1861 she was one of Queen Victoria's Maids of Honour and was therefore afforded the title Honourable and the rank of a Baron's daughter.

On 30 April 1861, she married Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (1825-1895), Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary. They had five children. After her husband's death in 1895 she was appointed an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber. 

Her granddaughter was the Honourable Elizabeth Ponsonby (1900-1940), the quintessential Bright Young Thing of the 1920s.

The Honourable Lady Mary Ponsonby died on 16 October 1916 at Gilmuire, Ascot, Berkshire. She left an estate valued at £17,840.

According to a short obituary in the Yorkshire Evening Post (16 October 1916), 'Lady Ponsonby, who had just reached her 85th birthday, was connected with the Court of Queen Victoria for many years. She became Maid of Honour when 21 years of age, and held that position till her marriage in 1861. She was a remarkable personality, and was for some years an intimate friend of George Eliot.'

Her obituary in The Times (17 October 1916) concluded: 'Lady Ponsonby had many interests, political, social, and literary, and her vivid memory of the distinguished and interesting people she had known made her a delightful companion.'