In 1776 the work of the English parliament and law courts paused for a week to hear the unusual case of a woman being tried for bigamy. Elizabeth Chudleigh had married the Duke of Kingston, but before that she had married - and never divorced - the Earl of Bristol. The entire country was agog to see the outcome - was she a Duchess or a Countess? For Elizabeth, there was more at stake than just a title - her husband the Duke had left her an enormous fortune, and his relatives wanted it back.
Sources/Further Reading:
Chudleigh, Elizabeth: An Authentic Detail of Particulars Relative to the Late Duchess of Kingston
Gervat, Claire: Elizabeth - the Scandalous Life of the Duchess of Kingston
Ostler, Catherine: The Duchess Countess, the Woman Who Scandalised 18th Century London
A Most Scandalous Lady https://janeaustenslondon.com/2016/01/22/a-most-scandalous-lady/
The Bigamous Duchess of Kingston https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/exhibitions/online/fromparchmenttopixels/duchessofkingston.aspx
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Pierrepont,_Duchess_of_Kingston-upon-Hull
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