Who hosted the famous Brussels ball before the Battle of Quatre Bras?

Who hosted the famous Brussels ball before the Battle of Quatre Bras? Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond, hosted it.

Charlotte Lennox was the wife of Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, who commanded a reserve force stationed in Brussels during Napoleon Bonaparte's 1815 return to power. The Richmonds held the celebrated ball on the evening of 15 June in a coach house adjoining their temporary residence. Its setting was elegant but improvised, reflecting the military mobilization surrounding the city.

The gathering became legendary because many senior officers in the Duke of Wellington's army attended. During the evening, news arrived that Napoleon's army had crossed the frontier and was advancing. Wellington reportedly received the message at the ball, then instructed officers to leave and join their commands. The festivities gave way to urgent departures for the campaign.

The ball is often confused with a general social event hosted by another aristocratic woman, such as Lady Jersey. Its canonical hostess, however, was Charlotte Lennox, whose title explains the event's familiar name: the Duchess of Richmond's ball.