Frances Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn Cowper was born in 1820, the youngest daughter of Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper, a daughter of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. Her paternity was officially attributed to Lady Cowper's husband, the 5th Earl Cowper. However, the historian K.D. Reynolds and others have argued that Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston was actually the father of Lady Frances and her brother William. Once widowed, her mother married Palmerston, though Lady Frances did not care for him. He became Prime Minister in 1859. In 1838, Lady Frances served as a maid of honour at the Coronation of Queen Victoria, and she also
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne replied: "Why, damn it all, such a position was never held by any Greek or Roman: and if it only lasts three months, it will be worth while to have been Prime Minister of England." "By God, that's true," Melbourne said, "I'll go!" Compromise was the key to many of Melbourne's actions. As an aristocrat, he had a vested interest in the "status quo". He was opposed to the Reform Act 1832 proposed by the Whigs, arguing that Catholic emancipation had not ended in the tranquility expected of it, but reluctantly agreed that it was necessary to forestall the threat