And it's no coincidence that the words echo those of the late Princess Diana, who is in fact a distant relation of The Duchess, Georgiana, played by a refreshingly less flaky (and less pouty) Keira Knightley.
Much has already been made of the apparent parallels between 'the people's princess' and that of the 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who at the tender age of 17 finds herself in a lonely, loveless marriage with her husband William, played to perfection, it has to be said, by Ralph Fiennes.
Naïve and idealistic, and guided – or as one might argue, misguided – by her pragmatic mother (Charlotte Rampling) and constrained by the social norms of the era, the young Georgiana soon comes to realise her sole "duty" is to provide her dispassionate and vacant husband with an heir, and that her failure to do so only widens the gulf between them, forcing her to turn a blind eye to her husband's numerous infidelities and look for happiness elsewhere.
Knightley, no stranger to the corset-popping period roles, appears to have matured and puts in one of her finest performances to date, tempering her role with just enough pathos so as not to turn Georgiana into a pitiful, pathetic victim. There is, thankfully, less of the tiresome doe-eyed damsel in distress routine, making way for a stronger and more provocative performance from her as a leading lady and resulting in the creation of a memorable, stoical heroine.
Even when she is faced with the humiliation of having to dine in her own home with her husband and his live-in mistress, she does so with an admirable grace, bringing an ironic humour to the farcical situation she finds herself in.
In fact, Georgiana's many qualities, not least her resilience and strength to do what is right by her children, are in stark contrast to her husband's unpalatable flaws.
Fienne's perfectly measured and exacting performance as the socially awkward but determined Duke, allows his character to effortlessly swing from being an almost comical hapless idiot to a heartless and even violent villain. And it is testament to Fiennes' ability as an actor that even though we share Georgiana's utter contempt for her husband, we realise that he himself is not totally devoid of feeling, albeit somewhat stunted, with his understated gestures delivered with an absolute precision.
It's as though in marrying Georgiana he has caged a bright, beautiful bird for all to admire and yet he doesn't quite know what to do with it himself, and it's this lack of being able to love this woman whom "all of England is in love with" that is perhaps the real tragedy of the tale.

While The Duchess has glorious costumes and stunning locations in common with other period dramas that have graced the silver screen, it perhaps delves a little deeper into a society on the cusp of social change and shines a spotlight on the darker themes of violence within marriage, betrayal, the role of women, and the sacrifices one must make when forced to survive.
Based on an historical biography, its author Amanda Foreman claims she fell in love with Georgiana during her research and in his adaptation, director Saul Dibb has conjured up a character whose charm affects the audience as much as it does those around her in the film. For those who enjoy a period drama, The Duchess is surprisingly good and a little less saccharine than the genre usually tends to dictate.