Cordelia Fitzgerald

Cordelia Fitzgerald

Portrayed by (Alison Doody)
Full Name	Cordelia Fitzgerald, Lady Surrey
Associated Noble House(s)	Marquessate of Wadham, Earldom of Rotherham, Viscountcy of Surrey
Date of Birth	11th December 1783
Father	Lawrence Blakeney
Father's Rank	Marquess of Wadham
Mother	Elizabeth Blakeney
Mother's Rank	Marchioness of Wadham
Town Residence	{{{residence}}}
Year of Debut	1801
Dowry	£35,000
Year of Marriage	1801
Spouse	Richard Fitzgerald
Spouse's Rank	Viscount Surrey
Issue	Henry (1805), Madeleine (1808), Mortimer (1811)

Cordelia, Lady Surrey was born Lady Cordelia Blakeney and is the only daughter of the Marquess of Wadham. She married Lord Surrey soon after debuting. It was not a love match but the two are well suited and it is a reasonably happy marriage. She dislikes the apparently hoydenish and wilful behaviour of her sisters-in-law, Viola and Olivia. She is good friends with the Duchess of Leicester. Her cousin Sophia Blakeney debuted in 1809.

Nowadays, Cordelia would receive a diagnosis of Asperger's. Her rigid adherence to the rules of etiquette is a learned skill which combined with her prodigious knowledge of the lineages of the British peerage and precedence drawn from an extensive study of Debrett's make her seem particularly proud and obsessed with status, though it also gives her the ability to navigate high society with the appearance of ease, her high rank and strict sense of propriety making her as good as untouchable. She finds it difficult to interpret people's meaning from their facial expressions and finds metaphors, sarcasm and irony difficult to understand, though she has grown able to perceive when people are speaking in this way. She has consequently found it difficult to integrate herself with her husband's family, who delight in wordplay. She becomes very anxious when faced with situations and people she does not understand which she expresses in aloofness and sometimes rudeness. She is an exquisite sewer and is rarely found without some embroidery in her hand. She has always done her duty towards her husband and her children and while she is not warmly affectionate in a way that her in-laws appreciate, she is truly fond of them all and proud of her children. Lord Surrey is one of the few people she absolutely trusts to look after her and take her side and whose guidance she will follow without a murmur. This contributes towards her anxiety when faced with his relatives for she wants to please them for her husband's sake, but finds that so difficult when she does not understand them at all and they do not behave the way she thinks is appropriate for people of their station in life.

Cordelia is a NPC belonging to Rose.