Both of her sisters married into the aristocracy, Isabella becoming Countess of Beverley, and Frances becoming Duchess of Northumberland.
The duke had been living abroad when, aged 21, he returned and met Elizabeth Burrell; they were married in London on 5 April 1778.
[3] Hamilton's mother, the former actress Elizabeth Gunning, who was by now the Duchess of Argyll following her second marriage, is said to have disapproved of the match, sniffing that 'the daughter of a private gentleman, however accomplished, was not qualified to be allied to her'.
Elizabeth, then Dowager Marchioness of Exeter, died at Privy Gardens, Whitehall, London, in January 1837, aged 79.
[9] The title of a country dance named "Hamilton House", involving many changes of partner, was said to have been a reference to the affairs conducted by both the duke and the duchess during their marriage.