The Marital Woes of the Duchess of Kingston
A story of strange goings-on in 18th-century England
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.
