'' by
Pompeo Batoni, 1768. Elizabeth Foster's second husband, with whom she lived from 1782 on:
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire Known as Bess, she was born Elizabeth Christiana Hervey on 13 May 1758, in a small house in
Horringer,
St Edmundsbury,
Suffolk. She was daughter of
Frederick Hervey,
Bishop of Derry, who later became the fourth
Earl of Bristol, and his wife, Elizabeth
Davers (1733–1800), daughter of
Sir Jermyn Davers, 4th Baronet. She had three brothers, including
John, Lord Hervey and
Frederick, 1st Marquess of Bristol; and two sisters,
Lady Mary Erne and
Louisa, Countess of Liverpool. In 1776, Elizabeth married Irishman
John Thomas Foster (1747–1796). He was a first cousin of the brothers
John Foster, Baron Oriel, last Speaker of the (united) Irish House of Commons, and
Bishop (William) Foster. The Fosters had two sons, Frederick (3 October 1777 – 1853) and
Augustus John Foster (1780–1848). Their only daughter, also named Elizabeth, was born prematurely on 17 November 1778 and lived only eight days. When her father succeeded as the earl in 1779, she became
Lady Elizabeth Foster. The couple resided after 1779 with her parents at
Ickworth House in
Suffolk. The marriage was not a success, and the couple separated within five years, after Bess received reports of an "intrigue" between Foster and her maid, Madam Wagniere. Despite knowing that she would be destitute, Bess wrote to Foster, "it is my fixt wish & determination not to return to you." Foster retained custody of their sons and did not allow the boys to see Bess for 14 years. , by Guérin, ca. 1791 In May 1782, Bess met the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire in
Bath, and quickly became Georgiana's closest friend. From this time, she lived in a
triad with Georgiana and her husband,
William, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, for about 25 years. She bore two illegitimate children by the Duke: a daughter, Caroline St Jules, and a son, Augustus (later
Augustus Clifford, 1st Baronet), who were raised at
Devonshire House with the Duke's legitimate children by Georgiana. Georgiana grew ill and died in 1806; three years later, Bess married the duke and became the Duchess of Devonshire. He died two years later. Bess is also said to have had affairs with several other men, including Cardinal
Ercole Consalvi,
John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset,
Count Axel von Fersen,
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, and
Valentine Quin, 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. Quin joined the Duchess as her travelling physician in
Rome in December 1820, and afterwards attended her in that city during her fatal illness in March 1824. Lady Elizabeth was a friend of the
French author
Madame de Staël, with whom she corresponded from about 1804. Bess died on March 30, 1824, eighteen years to the day of Georgiana's death. ==Film portrayals==