Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

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Elizabeth Christiana Hervey, later Elizabeth Foster and then Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (13 May 1758 – 30 March 1824), was an English aristocrat and letter writer known as Bess. She was born in Horringer, Suffolk, to Frederick Hervey, who would become the 4th Earl of Bristol, and Elizabeth Davers. In 1776 she married John Thomas Foster; they separated in 1781 after rumors of an affair. They had two sons, Frederick (1777–1853) and Augustus John (1780–1848), and a daughter Elizabeth who died as an infant; Foster kept the boys from Bess for many years. In 1782 Bess met Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, and became her closest friend. For about 25 years she lived with Georgiana and Georgiana’s husband, William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, in a famous triad. She bore two illegitimate children by the Duke: Caroline St Jules and Augustus Clifford, who were raised with the Duke’s legitimate children. After Georgiana’s death in 1806, Bess married the Duke in 1809 and became Duchess of Devonshire; he died in 1811. Bess was known for her many friendships and rumored affairs, and she traveled with the Duke, including to Rome. She corresponded with the French writer Madame de Staël from about 1804. Elizabeth died in Rome in 1824 at the age of 65. Her life has been depicted in popular culture, for example by Hayley Atwell in the 2008 film The Duchess.