"Husbands are dreadfull and powerful animals," wrote the long-suffering Elizabeth after reconciling with her husband in 1762. She refused to allow his illegitimate son from that affair to keep the surname Herbert, and she and Henry ended up living in separate quarters at Wilton (he downstairs, she upstairs).
She would eventually move to Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park in 1788, which King George had put at her disposal. However, the King – who had been attracted to Elizabeth as long as he had known her – 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 later that year.
It is set in 1788, and so she was actually much older than portrayed.
Its mention of a mother-in-law who "lost her wits" is an invention, since her mother-in-law Mary Fitzwilliam died in 1769.
The King introduces her: "Now, that's Lady Pembroke. Handsome woman, what? Daughter of the Duke of Marlborough. Stuff of generals. Blood of Blenheim. Husband an utter rascal. Eloped in a packet-boat."
The movie shows the mad King harassing her, but she (and the Queen) remaining loyal to him.
Henry, Elizabeth and George: Letters and Diaries of Henry, 10th Earl of Pembroke and his Circle (1734–80), 16th Earl, 1939, repub as: The Pembroke Papers vol. I (1734–80), 1942–50.
The Pembroke Papers vol. II (1780–94), 16th Earl, 1950, [EUL] 9(42073) Pem.
