Duke of Devonshire a separate title from that of Earl of Devon, which still belongs to the Courtenay family. The fifth Duke and Duchess of Devonshire are portrayed in the 2008 film "The Duchess" directed by Saul Dibb. The film is based on Amanda Foreman's biography of the scandalous 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (portrayed by Keira Knightley) and her relationship with the Duke (Ralph Fiennes) and his next wife, Lady Elizabeth Foster. Along with Jane Austen, the fifth Duke and his second wife appear, soon after Georgiana's death, in "Jane and the Stillroom Maid", a murder mystery by Stephanie
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire marital arrangement, love affairs, socializing, and gambling. She was the great-great-great-grand-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Their lives, centuries apart, have been compared in tragedy in contemporary time. The duchess was born Miss Georgiana Spencer, on 7 June 1757, as the first child of John Spencer (later Earl Spencer) and his wife, Georgiana (née Poyntz, later Countess Spencer), at the Spencer family home, Althorp. After her daughter's birth, her mother wrote that "I will own I feel so partial to my Dear little Gee, that I think I never shall love another so well". Two younger siblings followed: Henrietta and