The Marital Woes of the Duchess of Kingston
Elizabeth Chudleigh, Countess of Bristol and Duchess of Kingston, was tried for bigamy in Westminster Hall by the House of Lords in 1776. She was a fascinating character, whose life was both scandalous and tragic.
Elizabeth Chudleigh, born in 1721, was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Chudleigh, of Chelsea, and his wife Henrietta, who was his first cousin, the fourth daughter of Hugh Chudleigh, of Chalmington, in Dorset.
In 1743, at the age of sixteen, Elizabeth became a maid of honour to the Princess of Wales, who became greatly attached to her. The beautiful Miss Chudleigh was speedily surrounded by admirers, among whom was James, sixth Duke of Hamilton, born in 1724, and therefore two years her senior.
The Duke proposed marriage to her, and made her promise that when he returned from his European “Grand Tour”, which he was about to begin, she would become his wife.
In the summer of 1744, Elizabeth went on a visit to Lainston, near Winchester, to stay with her widowed maternal aunt, Anne Hanmer. At the Winchester races, Elizabeth met Augustus Hervey, a young Navy Lieutenant who was a grandson of the Earl of Bristol. He was two years older than Elizabeth and was fascinated by her.
Mrs Hanmer invited Hervey to Lainston, and did everything she could to foster a romance between the couple, which duly took off — on his side at least. Elizabeth was not so keen, and was in any case fully aware of her betrothal to the Duke of Hamilton, who was clearly a far better match than a lowly-ranked Naval officer, albeit one with somewhat distant aristocratic connections.
However, Mrs Hanmer’s matchmaking went as far as interrupting the Duke’s letters to Elizabeth, thus giving her second thoughts about how much the Duke cared about her.
A Secret Wedding
Despite Elizabeth not being particularly enthusiastic about Lieutenant Hervey, she allowed herself to follow her aunt’s plan and be married to him at the local parish church.
The wedding was done in secret, with the wedding party consisting of only the couple, Mrs Hanmer, her maid and two local…
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