Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery

Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (January/March 1737 – 30 April 1831) was the daughter of Charles Spencer and Elizabeth Trevor.

Biography

Born Elizabeth Spencer to Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough and Elizabeth Trevor.

Her siblings were George, Charles, and Diana.

At nineteen she married Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke.

She was admired by George III in the early 1760s, becoming a Lady of the Bedchamber to his wife, Queen Charlotte. The King and Queen stayed for two nights with Henry and Elizabeth at Wilton House in 1778.

"Husbands are dreadfull and powerful Animals" wrote the long-suffering Elizabeth after taking her husband back in 1762, though she did manage to prevent his illegitimate son from that affair from keeping the surname Herbert. She and Henry ended up living in separate quarters at Wilton (he downstairs, she upstairs), with her eventually leaving for Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park in 1788, which the king had put at her disposal. However, the King - who had been attracted to Elizabeth all his life - suffered his first bout of insanity that same year, and she had to endure the embarrassment of his sporadic and unwanted attentions until his recovery in 1805.

Issue

Despite Henry's frequent affairs, they had the following issue:

In fiction

• She features in the movie The Madness of King George (1994) played by Amanda Donohoe.
• It is set in 1788, and so she was actually much older than portrayed.
• Its......
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