in 1866, aged sixty-nine, princess lavinia asked the court of probate to declare her the legitimate granddaughter of the duke of cumberland and award her the £15,000 bequest "left" by george iii. in the process of the 1866 trial, lavinia produced several remarkable documents attesting to her claims, and a handwriting expert testified to the authenticity of george iii's and james wilmot's signatures. testimony was introduced that in fact the duke of kent had supported olivia financially, and had spoken of olivia as "my cousin serres", apparently believing her story.