Aged eighteen, Emily married Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper (1778–1837), who was nine years her senior.
 Lord Cowper had a reputation for dullness and slowness of speech which were in marked contrast to his wife's social gifts; a more favourable opinion was that he was a quiet, pleasant man who was far less stupid than he appeared to be,  but  preferred to avoid society and politics.
Emily threw herself into the Regency social scene, becoming one of the  patronesses  of the highly exclusive Almack's club.
She was noted for kindness and generosity, and  would do anything for a person she liked.
She  would even help people she disliked:  although she detested her sister-in-law Caroline, when Caroline was barred from Almack's, a sign of the deepest  social disgrace, Emily eventually managed to get the ban lifted.
Like many of the society ladies of the age, she had love affairs, including one with the Corsican diplomat Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, later Russian Ambassador to Great Britain.

Emily was noted not only for beauty but  for her extraordinary charm: she was described as "grace put in action, whose softness was as seductive as her joyousness".
She was undoubtedly the most popular patroness of Almack's, her warmth and charm being a notable contrast to the rudeness and arrogance of some of the other ladies who ran the club, especially Lady Jersey  and  Princess Lieven.
Aged eighteen, Emily married Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper (1778–1837), who was nine years her senior.  Lord Cowper had a reputation for dullness and slowness of speech which were in marked contrast to his wife's social gifts; a more favourable opinion was that he was a quiet, pleasant man who was far less stupid than he appeared to be,  but  preferred to avoid society and politics. Emily threw herself into the Regency social scene, becoming one of the  patronesses  of the highly exclusive Almack's club. She was noted for kindness and generosity, and  would do anything for a person she liked. She  would even help people she disliked:  although she detested her sister-in-law Caroline, when Caroline was barred from Almack's, a sign of the deepest  social disgrace, Emily eventually managed to get the ban lifted. Like many of the society ladies of the age, she had love affairs, including one with the Corsican diplomat Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, later Russian Ambassador to Great Britain.
Emily was noted not only for beauty but  for her extraordinary charm: she was described as "grace put in action, whose softness was as seductive as her joyousness". She was undoubtedly the most popular patroness of Almack's, her warmth and charm being a notable contrast to the rudeness and arrogance of some of the other ladies who ran the club, especially Lady Jersey  and  Princess Lieven.
Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston