  right|thumb|18th century portrait of elizabeth chudleigh elizabeth chudleigh, duchess of kingston (1720 &ndash; 26 august 1788), sometimes called countess of bristol, was the daughter of colonel thomas chudleigh (died 1726), and was appointed maid of honour to augusta, princess of wales, in 1743, probably through the good offices of her friend, william pulteney, 1st earl of bath. ==marriage== elizabeth chudleigh was born in 1720 . her father was lieutenant governor of the royal hospital, chelsea, but he died while she was still a small child. being an attractive woman, chudleigh did not lack admirers, among whom were james hamilton, 6th duke of hamilton, and augustus hervey, later 3rd earl of bristol, but at that time a younger son of the first earl. on 4 august 1744 she was privately married to hervey at lainston house, a private country house with its own parish church (st peter's, now a ruin), near winchester. the wedding was held at night to preserve the secrecy. both husband and wife lacked the financial support they needed, and their union was kept secret to enable chudleigh to retain her post at court, while hervey, who was a naval officer, rejoined his ship, returning to england towards the close of 1746. the marriage proved to be an unhappy one, and for years the pair did not to live together. having married in secret, their marriage did not seem to need to be dissolved. chudleigh cut a prominent figure in london society, and in 1765 in berlin she was honoured by the attentions of frederick the great. she later became the mistress of evelyn pierrepont, 2nd duke of kingston-upon-hull. however, when it appeared likely that hervey would succeed his brother as earl of bristol, chudleigh took steps to establish proof of her marriage to him by forging an entry in the parish register at lainston, unbeknownst to him.heppenstal quotes a detailed account of this incident from melville, l, notable british trials, vol. 182: the trial of the duchess of kingston (edinburgh: william hodge & co., 1927) == charges of bigamy == hervey wanted to end their marriage by divorce, but chudleigh wanted to avoid any public acknowledgment of their marriage. she therefore initiated a suit of jactitation against him, which required him to cease claiming marriage to her unless proved. when hervey proved incapable of proving the relationship and chudleigh swore she was unmarried, the consistory court in february 1769 pronounced her a spinster, free to marry. within a month, she married kingston and became elizabeth pierrepont, duchess of kingston-upon-hull. he built chudleigh house for her. he died four years later, leaving h
1720_births 1788_deaths British_duchesses_by_marriage British_people_convicted_of_bigamy Maids_of_Honour Pierrepont_family