“On the death of her grandfather’s second wife, Harriet; Angela, at 23 years of age inherited almost the entire estate in a trust. Harriet wished the fortune to remain in the Coutts family and her will contained certain caveats, notably that she was to take the Coutts name, and that she must never marry a foreign national.”
“Baroness Burdett-Coutts shocked polite society when she finally got married in 1881 at the age of 67. Her husband William Ashmead-Barlett, who took her surname, was less than half her age at 29: he had been her protégé and secretary, and would later become the MP for Westminster. William was American by birth, which meant that under the conditions of her legacy Burdett-Coutts forfeited much of her inheritance. They remained happily married until Angel’s death.”
Text quoted from the information sign at the Angela Burdett-Coutts Memorial Fountain Gardens.