Anne Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton


Anne Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton formerly Anne Spencer, was the third wife of James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton.
She was the daughter of Edward Spencer of Rendlesham, Suffolk, where she was born. Thus she was the sister of Elizabeth Spencer, later the wife of Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet, and the aunt of the future Anne Stewart, Countess of Galloway.
His second wife having died in 1729, the duke married Anne Spencer on 21 August 1737. They had three children:
The duke died in 1743, aged 40, and was initially succeeded by James, his 21-year-old son from his first marriage. The duchess remarried on 24 December 1751, her second husband being Richard Savage Nassau, a son of Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein, 3rd Earl of Rochford. She retained the status of dowager duchess.
They had three children:
The duchess died in 1771 and was buried at Easton, Suffolk, under the terms of her will. The Spencer family estates passed to her elder son, Archibald, who later inherited the dukedom from the son of his half-brother.