General William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington (18 December 1719 – 1 April 1779) was a British politician and soldier. The son of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, he took up a military career and joined the Foot Guards in 1741, and was also returned for Aylesbury. He was wounded at the battle of Fontenoy and shortly thereafter (5 June 1745) was appointed colonel of the Second Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, an appointment he held for the remainder of his life. He married Lady Caroline FitzRoy (1722–1784), daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, on 11 August 1746. They had seven children: In 1747, he became MP for Bury St Edmunds, and in 1755, was promoted major-general. He succeeded to the earldom in 1756, and was promoted lieutenant-general in 1758 and general in 1770. He was known to society as "the goat of quality" for the dissipation of his personal life: he visited the brothel of Sarah Prendergast in King's Place, St James's, London, four times a week. His wife Lady Harrington formed "The New Female Coterie", a group of demimondaines which met in the same house.