DUCHESS, THE (Keira Knightley)

LADY DIANA OF THE PAST - Älskad av folket, men inte av sin make! Den vackra och glamorösa Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) gifter sig med den åldrade och frånvarande hertigen av Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), och det enda han vill ha av henne är en son och arvinge. Han tappar intresset för henne när hon "bara" kan föda honom döttrar och sårar henne ytterligare genom att ta hennes vän som sin "officiella" älskarinna. Men den starka Georgiana låter sig inte kuvas på det sättet. Hon hittar en egen älskare i den unge politikern Charles Grey. Men det visar sig att olika regler gäller för kvinnor när det kommer till otrohet...

In 1774, the young Georgiana Spencer is contracted in marriage to William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, with the expectation that she produce his male heir. She is quickly disillusioned by her husband, especially when Charlotte, William’s illegitimate child whose mother has died, comes to live with them while Georgiana is pregnant. William expects Georgiana to tolerate the child's presence and practice "mothering" on her.

When Georgiana gives birth to a girl, William is displeased. In his mind, he has fulfilled his obligations to her as her husband. However, by failing to provide him with a legitimate male heir, she has failed in her obligations as his wife.

Georgiana becomes a leading light in fashionable society. She socialises with the young Lady Bess Foster at Bath and invites her to live with them since Bess has nowhere else to go. William has an affair with her, causing Georgiana to feel robbed of her only friend and betrayed by Bess. Bess tells Georgiana that her motive is to regain her three sons (whom her husband has taken from her), so she continues to live with them.

Starring

Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Simon McBurney, Aidan McArdle, John Shrapnel