Elizabeth, Comtesse de Gramont (Grammont)(1640 - 3 June 1708).

Elizabeth, was born, Elizabeth Hamilton was born in Strabane , County Tyrone, Ireland. She became a member of the English court in 1661. She was described as a great beauty and became known for her judgement, charm and sensibility, and she was seen as witty and careful with her words as she, reportedly, said no more than she thought.She also loved practical jokes and mischief. On one occasion, she played a practical joke on two British maids of honors, lady Muskerry and miss Blague.She was much courted, by among others the Duke of York, the Duke of Richmond and the Heir of Norfolk, but she reportedly rejected them all.

She married in London Philibert, Count de Grammont , a French exile at the English court. "La belle Hamilton" was one of the great beauties of the English court, and was, according to her brother's optimistic account, able to fix the count's affections. Grammont had courted her for some time and it was understood that they would be married. When Grammont was given permission to return to France, however, he left in a haste, giving the impression that he would not honor his intention to marry Hamilton. Her brothers therefore stopped him on his way and pressured him to return and marry her

She followed her spouse to France in 1669, where she was made Dame du Palais to the French queen. She was a woman of considerable wit, and held her own at the court of Louis XIV , but her husband pursued his gallant exploits to the close of a long life, being, said Ninon de l'Enclos , the only old man who could affect the follies of youth without being ridiculous. She was pointed out as a client to La Voisin , and was thereby incriminated in the affaire des poisons in 1679. In 1696, her spouse was afflicted with a grave illness, and after he recovered, he turned to a religious life, in which she followed him.she died one year after being widowed.

updated by @countess-shuvalova: 06 Oct 2016 06:14:57AM

It might be interesting to add that one of Elizabeth's brothers, Anthony ( also said Antoine when he lived in France), wrote a book directly IN FRENCH ( !) " Les Memoires de la vie du Comte de Gramont", telling details ( and tales) about the eventful life of his sister's husband. This book can be found in English online in Gutenberg project , under the title " Memoirs of the Count of Grammont" ( note the difference between French and English spellings of the name). Of course, it should be preferably read in French, for those who can: ithas been renowned and praised, all through the centuries, for its perfect masteryof the mostelegant French style of writing, and a good illustration of the charm and civilizedesprit which prevailed then. Some parts may be boring nowadays, but on the whole it's still a pleasurable read- and Le Comte de Gramont was such an unpredictableand frantic character! It is astonishingto see that several of the best French booksduring this period, were written directly in French by authors, to whom French was not their native language:the abovementioned Memoirs by Hamilton, but also les Memoires de Casanova, Jan Potocki's "Le Manuscrit touve a Saragosse", Beckford's "Vathek"...

If only I could do the same in English...( sighs)

That was interesting I have to pick up that book