Came across this and thought I'd share: Elizabeth Gunning and her sister Maria were daughters of impoverished Irish gentry. They managed to get to London and went to balls etc in order to catch rich/titled husbands, which they did on account of their beauty and wit.
Duke of Hamilton: *proposes to Elizabeth the very same night he meets her* They get married in 1752, but he dies in 1758. Elizabeth: Well, I guess I need to find a new Duke now… Duke of Bridgwater: *proposes* Elizabeth: *accepts* Duke of Bridgwater: But you can't hang out with your sister, with her scandalous behavior! Elizabeth: What? I only have one sister, but I can totally get another Duke! *breaks off engagement* Future Duke of Argyll: *proposes, with no such conditions* Elizabeth: Yeah, I guess you’ll do! *accepts*
Her sister was married to an Earl, but she sadly died of lead and mercury poisoning from her beauty regimen.
(I only have a dubious source for why Elizabeth broke off her engagement with the Duke of Bridgwater: a historian(?) said it on a British Museum podcast which was actually mostly about the landscape gardener Capability Brown. According to Wikipedia, it isn't known why she broke it off. But it was too good not to share!)
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Fun Gossip: Elizabeth Gunning
Date: 2022-04-19 06:56 pm (UTC)Duke of Hamilton: *proposes to Elizabeth the very same night he meets her*
They get married in 1752, but he dies in 1758.
Elizabeth: Well, I guess I need to find a new Duke now…
Duke of Bridgwater: *proposes*
Elizabeth: *accepts*
Duke of Bridgwater: But you can't hang out with your sister, with her scandalous behavior!
Elizabeth: What? I only have one sister, but I can totally get another Duke! *breaks off engagement*
Future Duke of Argyll: *proposes, with no such conditions*
Elizabeth: Yeah, I guess you’ll do! *accepts*
Her sister was married to an Earl, but she sadly died of lead and mercury poisoning from her beauty regimen.
(I only have a dubious source for why Elizabeth broke off her engagement with the Duke of Bridgwater: a historian(?) said it on a British Museum podcast which was actually mostly about the landscape gardener Capability Brown. According to Wikipedia, it isn't known why she broke it off. But it was too good not to share!)