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. is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected... Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox (born at Goodwood, Sussex on 18 May 1701; died at Godalming on 8 August 1750) was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st 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 favorite 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. Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (1731-1814), known before 1747 as The Lady Emily Lennox, from 1747 to 1761 as The Countess of Kildare and from 1761 to 1766 as The Marchioness of Kildare, was the second of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond... Lady Caroline Lennox (1723-1774) was the eldest of the four Lennox sisters, immortalised in Stella Tillyards book, Aristocrats, and the television series based on it. ... George II (George Augustus; 10 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. ... “George III” redirects here. ...

When she was presented at court again at 15, King 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". Sir William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian (c. ... John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (May 25, 1713 - March 10, 1792), was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762-1763) under George III. A close relative of the Campbell clan (his mother was a daughter of the First Duke of Argyll), Bute succeeded to... Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, (28 September 1705-1 July 1774) was an English statesman. ... Queen Charlotte, (née Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom (1738–20). ...

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, She is the grandmother of Queen Victoria James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (20 April 1726–3 July 1778) was the son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Cosmo George Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon (c. ... Col. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... General Sir Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier GCB (August 10, 1782 – August 29, 1853) was a British general and Commander-in-Chief in India. ...

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 U.K. It was called Aristocrats. [2]