Lady Sarah Napier (, later Bunbury; 14 February 1745 – 26 August 1826) was a British aristocrat who became notorious for her status as a royal favourite and for her scandalous extramarital affairs. One of the famous Lennox sisters, she was the frequent subject of gossip and press coverage during the middle of the Georgian era.
Her father was Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, a wealthy peer and grandson of King Charles II through an illegitimate line. The Duke held court appointments and frequently brought his young daughter with him to Kensington Palace, where she became a royal favourite of King George II. After her father's death, she spent her late childhood in Ireland before returning to London for her first season. The future King George III fell in love with her over a two-year period, causing Sarah to become a pawn of political factions hoping to influence him. The relationship ended upon his engagement to a German princess.
Lady Sarah's subsequent marriage in 1762 to Charles Bunbury, a Member of Parliament and horse racing enthusiast, was unhappy. Six years later, she scandalously had a child and eloped with her lover, Lord William Gordon. Bunbury successfully petitioned for divorce, a rare event for the time. Her activities attracted press attention and led to a 12-year effective exile from society. In 1781, Sarah wed George Napier in what would be a happy marriage living modestly in Ireland; they had eight children, four of whom became prominent officers in the British Army or Royal Navy.
For a long time, Sarah remained a conspicuous symbol of the feminine dissoluteness often attributed by the public to the upper classes. Her connection with George III played a part in shaping his reputation as a puritan suffering from repressed sexuality. Moreover, the Lennox sisters' surviving correspondence provide almost a century's worth of insight into the lives of aristocratic women in the Georgian era. Twentieth‑century authors drew on details from Sarah's letters when writing books about her life, including Stella Tillyard, whose biography of the sisters was adapted into a 1999 television drama series.
Early life Family background Lady Sarah Lennox was born on 14 February 1745 at Richmond House, London. Her parents were Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and his wife Sarah, daughter and co-heir of William, 1st Earl Cadogan. The younger Sarah was thus born into great wealth and influence. Her paternal grandfather, Charles, 1st Duke of Richmond, was an illegitimate son of King Charles II by his longtime mistress Louise de Kérouaille. Through this connection, the 1st Duke was awarded with titles in the peerages of England, Scotland, and France. He also inherited an annuity of £2,000 and a share of coal dues that would normally have been part of the Crown's tax revenue. This coal allocation became a major source of the Lennox family's wealth, as mining and manufacturing grew during the Industrial Revolution. The family's royal connections increased over the years through court appointments and military promotions under King George I and King George II.
The 1st Duke spent much of his life in France; the informality of that country's aristocracy, namely their casual approach to social and sexual behaviour, left a marked influence on his children and grandchildren. Though they had an arranged marriage, the 2nd Duke and Duchess had an unusually loving relationship and produced a large family; Sarah was the second youngest of twelve children, seven of whom survived to adulthood – the female members would be known as the Lennox sisters and acquire fame for their marriages to prominent men. Compared to the social rigidity typical of the British upper classes, the family was inseparable and unconstrained; Sarah was considered lively in an already energetic family. Her father had many intellectual interests, including in biology and medicine, eventually forming a small menagerie of animals and entertaining prominent scientists at Goodwood House, their country estate in West Sussex.
Education and coming of age
By the time Sarah was six years old, both of her parents were dead. The Duke's will dictated that she and her nearest siblings, Louisa and Cecilia, would be brought up by their second eldest sister Emily, Countess of Kildare, who lived at Carton House in County Kildare, Ireland. More than ten years older than her siblings, Emily acted as both a sister and second mother to them. Married to the wealthy Earl of Kildare, she already had numerous children of her own and did not mind raising a few more. Her children were of a similar age to Sarah, who acted more as their playmate than their aunt.
Sarah's letters do not include many details about her education. It is known that they were educated at home under the care of governesses. French literature was a big influence on all the Lennox sisters, and they could read that language nearly as well as English. Emily did not consider herself to be an intellectual woman, but she did seek out the latest ideas in French education for women, including those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Madame de Sévigné, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. As a member of the Protestant Ascendancy that ruled over Ireland, Sarah would also have acquired experience socialising with her aristocratic peers.
As dictated in their father's will, Emily reluctantly sent her fourteen-year-old sister back to London for her first season in 1759. Provided with a dowry of £10,000 to find a worthy husband, Sarah stayed at Holland House, the home of her eldest sister, Lady Caroline Fox. Described by Caroline as "immensely pretty" and in possession of a "vastly engaging" manner, Sarah was also at first awkward and unsure of her attractions. She soon gained a reputation for beauty; her brother-in-law, the Whig politician Henry Fox, characterised her as "different from & prettyer than any other girl [he] ever saw ... her beauty is not easily described, otherwise by saying she had the finest complexion, most beautiful hair, with a sprightly and fine air, a pretty mouth, remarkably fine teeth & excess of bloom in her cheeks."
Royal favourite Childhood at court
The Duke of Richmond had a long career in the service of the British Crown, and was a strong supporter of the Hanoverian Royal Family. He was proud of his young daughter's prettiness and charming manner, and often brought Sarah to court at Kensington Palace. From an early age she was a favourite of King George II, who presided over a dull court and found amusement in her energy and playfulness. During one visit in the late 1740s, the king set her in a large Chinese jar and shut the lid; instead of being fearful, to his delight she sang a rendition of the folk song Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre. During another visit, when Sarah was still younger than five, she grew impatient to see the king and escaped her governess to surprise him with a sudden approach, declaring in French "How are you doing, Mr. King? You have a large and beautiful house here, don't you?"; this impropriety was saved when she prettily curtsied.
Relationship with George III When Sarah returned to London approximately eight years later, she was again invited to Kensington for her presentation at court. She quickly caught the eye of the king's twenty-one-year-old grandson, George, Prince of Wales. Over a two-year period, he fell in love with her, writing that "she is everything I can form to myself lovely." Sarah was flattered by the attention and fond of the shy prince, though they barely spoke during their first meeting and afterwards she spent more time in her diary describing her clothing than his appearance. After that first encounter in 1759, she continued to appear at the weekly assemblies held by the court. He gradually found the courage to ask her questions and learn more about her life and family.
The Prince of Wales kept his feelings private but eventually confided in his adviser and friend, Lord Bute, who replied that marriage with a non-royal spouse was impossible and started looking for a suitable match. Henry Fox, at first amused by the relationship, began encouraging her appearances at court – even if it did not end in marriage – as he hoped to use the connection to supplant Bute's influence with the prince or at least advance himself to an earldom. In response, part of Bute's objection to Sarah was that her elevation would bring increased power to Fox and the rest of her family at Bute's expense. Fox, in particular, was considered by many to be corrupt and unscrupulous, a dangerous connection for the Royal Family. George's mother, the Dowager Princess of Wales, also opposed the match.
In October 1760, King George II died and his grandson ascended the throne as George III. The new king was still interested, possibly hinting to her close friend Susan Fox-Strangways that he wanted an English queen and that Sarah would be a worthy candidate. However, a year after George's ascension, his engagement was announced to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a German princess considered plain but also unlikely to interfere in politics. George had finally, albeit reluctantly, recognised his duty, writing in his diary that Lord Bute:Has thoroughly convinced me of the impossibility of ever marrying a countrywoman ... The interest of my country shall ever be my first care, my own inclinations shall ever submit to it; I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation, and consequently must often act contrary to my passions.
Sarah was surprised and embarrassed to learn of his betrothal, feeling that she had been deceived and upset that she "look[ed] like a fool." She was not, apparently, too struck by disappointment; Fox observed that she seemed sadder over the death of her pet squirrel, and Sarah also noted in a letter that she had only liked the king, not loved him. Fox encouraged her to participate in the wedding as one of the ten bridesmaids carrying Charlotte's train, so the king would "behold your pretty face and repent." She did by serving as chief bridesmaid. In later life, Sarah expressed relief that she had not become queen. The historian John Brooke describes the relationship as an infatuation in which neither would have been happy. The king's piousness and sense of virtue precluded him from taking Sarah as a mistress; he told Lord Bute, "before God that I have never had any improper thought with regard to her."
Marriage to Charles Bunbury
Throughout Lady Sarah's association with the king and in its aftermath, her sister Caroline searched for a suitable marriage candidate. After the royal nuptials failed, Sarah's self-confidence was low and she worried about finding a good match as her three elder sisters had. By the end of the London season in 1761, the most suitable options – such as the Duke of Marlborough – had moved on to others or been ruled out by her. A brief, secret engagement with Lord Newbattle did not move forward. By the end of that year, another prospect named Charles Bunbury emerged and began courting her.
Bunbury was a 22-year-old Member of Parliament for Suffolk and often attended political discussions at Holland House. He had not had a successful legislative career, but was considered handsome and witty – Sarah described him as a "Marquis in a French story book." Caroline made inquiries and found that he was the eldest son of a baronet and came from a prominent family who owned lands in Cheshire and Suffolk. He was not deemed by her family to have a large enough fortune for them to live in fashionable society, but Caroline was ready for her matchmaking duties to be over, and the match was approved.