In 1837, Lord Cowper died, two days into the reign of Queen Victoria. This left the way open for a marriage between Emily and Palmerston, though their age was a cause for concern, as, in the eyes of her family, was Palmerston's reputation as a womaniser. The matter was referred to Queen Victoria, whose approval cleared the way for the marriage on 16 December 1839. Palmerston was 55 at the time, and Lady Cowper was 52. They set up their home at
Broadlands and the union was, by all accounts, a decidedly happy one. Of it,
Lord Shaftesbury said, "His attentions to Lady Palmerston, when they both of them were well stricken in years, were those of a perpetual courtship. The sentiment was reciprocal; and I have frequently seen them go out on a morning to plant some trees, almost believing that they would live to eat the fruit, or sit together under the shade." During the marriage, Lady Palmerston continued an active social role as a salon hostess. As the events were eagerly attended by foreign diplomats, Lord Palmerston would encourage his wife to float his ideas before the assembled guests and report back on their reception as a means of unofficially testing the diplomatic waters before committing himself publicly to an opinion. She could not cure his notorious lack of punctuality since this was a fault she shared to the full; Queen Victoria, while staying with them at Broadlands, complained that Emily had kept her waiting for an hour for a carriage ride. It was a standing joke in London society that they were always so late for dinner that neither of them had ever heard of soup. Psychologically the two were very well-matched. Biographer Herbert Bell states: :If Palmerston brought the greater sum of knowledge and pure intellect to the partnership, his lady was richly dowered in other qualities: sound sense and delicate sensibilities, warmed by beauty and good-heartedness into charm; shrewdness, so linked with impulsiveness that one wonders still how far her ‘indiscretions’ were planned for effect; earnestness and enthusiasm that admit of no such doubt. Biographer
Gillian Gill states the marriage: : was an inspired political alliance as well as a stab at personal happiness. Harry and Emily were supremely well-matched. As the husband of a beautiful, charming, intelligent, rich woman whose friends were the best people in society, Palmerston at last had the money, the social setting, and the personal security he needed to get to the very top of British politics. Lady Palmerston made her husband happy, as he did her, and she was a political power in her own right. In the last and most successful decades of Palmerston’s life, she was his best advisor and most trusted amanuensis. Theirs was one of the great marriages of the century. ==Personal Life==