Lady Sarah Lennox (February 14, 1745-August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. After the deaths of both her parents when she was only five years old, Lady Sarah was raised by her elder sister Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, in Ireland. Lady Sarah returned to London and the home of her sister Caroline Fox, Baroness Holland at 13. Having been a favourite of King George II since her childhood, she was invited to appear at court and there caught the eye of the Prince of Wales, the future King George III, whom she had met as a child. When she was presented at court again at 15, George III was taken with her, and her family developed an ambition that she would be the next queen. Largely for this reason, the young king was discouraged from selecting her as a wife. Lady Sarah had also developed feelings for Lord Newbattle, grandson of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian. Although her family were able to convince her to break with Newbattle, the royal match was scotched by the King's advisors, particularly John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who feared losing his royal influence to Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, Lady Sarah's brother-in-law. Lord Bute prevailed, and Lady Sarah was asked by King George III to be one of the ten bridesmaids at his wedding to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Lady Sarah confided to a friend, "Luckily for me, I did not love him, and only liked him". Lady Sarah refused a proposal of marriage from James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll before she married Thomas Charles Bunbury, eldest son of Sir William Bunbury, 5th Baronet on June 2, 1762. Her new husband, who was known to love horse racing and thought to be a great fop, succeeded his father in 1763 as Sir Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet. Within a short time, their marriage was on the rocks, and Sarah's conduct (including adultery and gambling) earned her a bad reputation. She left her husband in February 1769, after the birth of her daughter Louisa Bunbury, and eloped with her cousin and Louisa's biological father Lord William Gordon, the second son of the Duke of Gordon. Bunbury's divorce on the grounds of adultery was finally granted in 1776, and she was ostracised by polite society as a result. Eventually she found happiness with an impoverished army officer, George Napier. They were married on August 27, 1781, and had eight children, including Charles James Napier.
References
- Countess Ilchester, ed. The Life and Letters of Lady Sarah Lennox, 1745-1826 London: John Murray, 1901
- Curtis, Edith R. Lady Sarah Lennox: An Irrepressible Stuart, 1745-1826 New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1946.
- Hall, Thornton. Love Romances of the Aristocracy 2004 [1]
- Tillyard, Stella. Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1826. London: Chatto & Windus, 1994.
Lady Sarah in Popular Culture
In 1999, a 6-part miniseries based on the lives of Sarah Lennox and her sisters aired in the UK It was called Aristocrats. [2]
