Lady Sarah Napier


Lady Sarah Napier was a British aristocrat who achieved fame as a possible wife for King George III. Considered one of the Georgian era's beauties, she was the frequent subject of gossip and press coverage due to her scandalous extramarital affairs.
One of the famous Lennox sisters, she and her family inherited great wealth through their descent from King Charles II. During her first London season, she drew the eye of George, Prince of Wales. He hoped to marry her but was eventually persuaded that a non-royal match was impossible. Sarah instead married [Sir Sir Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet|Charles Bunbury, 6th Baronet|Charles Bunbury]; their relationship was troubled and she scandalously had a child and eloped with her lover, Lord William Gordon. Bunbury eventually divorced her, a rarity for the time period. Her subsequent fall from grace led to her exile from fashionable society. She later wed a second time in what would be a happy marriage; she and George Napier had eight children, three of whom became prominent officers in the British Army.

Early life

Lady Sarah Lennox was born on 14 February 1745 to Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and his wife Sarah, daughter of William, 1st Earl Cadogan. She was born into great wealth and connections. Her paternal grandfather, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, was an illegitimate son of King Charles II. Through this connection, the 1st Duke had been granted many titles in England and France, and perhaps more importantly, wealth through an annuity and a share of certain coal taxes in Newcastle. This coal allocation would become a significant source of the family's wealth, as mining and manufacturing grew during the Industrial Revolution. The Lennox family's royal connections increased in 1727 when the 2nd Duke and Duchess obtained court appointments under King George II and Queen Caroline.
Though arranged, her parents had a loving marriage and the family was large; Sarah was one of twelve children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Compared to the rigid formality typical of the era, the Lennox family was inseparable and unconstrained. Young Sarah was considered lively in an already energetic family. Her father had a great interest in biology and medicine, eventually forming a small menagerie of animals and entertaining prominent scientists at their home, Goodwood House. He also had a passion for the arts, serving as president of several organizations including the Royal Society of Arts.
By the time Sarah was six years old, however, both of her parents were dead. The Duke's will dictated that she and her nearest siblings, [Lady Lady Louisa Conolly|Louisa Conolly|Louisa] and Cecilia, would be brought up by their second eldest sister Emily FitzGerald, Countess of Kildare, who lived at Carton House in County Kildare, Ireland. As a married woman more than 10 years their senior, Emily acted as both sister and second mother to them. Married to a very wealthy man, Emily already had numerous children of her own and did not mind raising a few more.
Firsthand accounts of the sisters' early life and education are lacking. They were placed in the care of governesses, and Emily sought out the latest ideas in women's education, including those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. As a member of the Protestant Ascendancy ruling class in Ireland, Sarah would also have acquired significant experience socialising with her peers.
In 1759, the fourteen-year-old Sarah returned to London for her first season. Provided with a dowry of £10,000 to find a worthy husband, she 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 politician Henry Fox, characterised her as "different from & prettyer than any other girl 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

Sarah had been a favourite of King George II since childhood, often being invited to the dull court with her father and amusing the old king with her energy and playfulness. The Duke was proud of his young daughter's beauty and charisma.
When Sarah returned to London many years later, she was invited to Kensington Palace for her presentation at Court, a significant milestone for young ladies of her class. There, she caught the eye of his twenty-one-year-old grandson George, Prince of Wales. Beginning in 1759 and continuing over a two-year period, he fell in love with her, writing that "she is everything I can form to myself lovely". He confided his feelings in his advisor Lord Bute, who replied that marriage with a non-royal spouse was impossible; he began looking for a suitable match. Meanwhile, Henry Fox encouraged her appearances at court, even if it did not end in marriage, hoping he could use the relationship 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 as a royal bride 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 corrupt and unscrupulous, a dangerous connection for the Royal Family. George's mother, the Dowager Princess of Wales, also opposed the match.
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. 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, recognized his duty, writing in his diary that 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". His piousness and virtue precluded him from taking Sarah as a mistress.
Sarah was surprised and embarrassed to learn of his betrothal, feeling that she had been deceived and upset that she "look 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. She was one of the ten bridesmaids who carried Charlotte's train at their wedding, and in later life 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.

Marriage to Charles Bunbury

Throughout Sarah’s association with the king and in its aftermath, Caroline searched for a suitable marriage candidate. After the royal nuptials failed to materialize, 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. However, another prospect, considered handsome and witty, emerged at the end of that year.
Charles Bunbury, the 22-year-old MP for Suffolk, often attended political discussions at Holland House and began courting her. Though the eldest son of a baronet, he was not considered by her family to have a large enough fortune for them to live in fashionable society. Nonetheless, Caroline was ready for her matchmaking duties to be over, and the match was approved. Sarah, perhaps perceiving the familial and social pressure, consented to the match. The male adults in their lives – Sir William Bunbury, Henry Fox, and her brother, the Duke of Richmond – negotiated the marriage settlement. The couple were wed on 2 June 1762 in Holland House's chapel.
Upon their marriage, they went to live at Barton Hall, his country estate in Suffolk. In 1764, Bunbury succeeded his father as sixth Baronet. Sarah helped her husband's political career; in 1767, she reportedly secured 94 out of 100 votes while canvassing in the borough of Morpeth.

Divorce and social exile

Their relationship was troubled nearly from the start. During his courtship, Bunbury is barely mentioned in Sarah's letters, a possible sign of her lack of enthusiasm. After the wedding, she viewed him as emotionally distant and grew anxious for his affection. Horse racing was Bunbury's primary interest and he was often away attending meetings on the topic. Lonely, she filled her days with distractions such as gardening and visiting the bustling market town of Bury St Edmunds, as well as seeking solace in her family.
Still unhappy in her marriage, Sarah by 1767 had become unfaithful; her public, flirtatious behavior and rumoured affairs attracted gossip. She apparently embarked on affairs with several men, but the most prominent and long-lasting was Lord William Gordon, the second son of the Duke of Gordon. She gave birth to his illegitimate daughter on 19 December 1768. The child was not immediately disclaimed by Sir Charles and was named Louisa Bunbury, with the condition that Sarah give up Lord William. However, Sarah and William eloped shortly afterwards, taking the infant with them. Charles refused to take her back, and Sarah returned to her brother's house with her child. On 22 April 1769, her husband pursued a judicial separation through Doctors' Commons on grounds of adultery:
Lady Sarah Bunbury, being of loose and abandoned disposition, and, being wholly unmindful of her conjugal vow, &c. did contract and carry on a lewd and adulterous conversation with Lord William Gordon, and they had frequently carnal knowledge of each other: the party proponent therefore prays right that he may be pronounced to be divorced from bed, board, and mutual cohabitation with Lady Sarah Bunbury, his wife.

The affair caused a great scandal and her activities gained widespread coverage in newspapers and other media – Town and Country, for instance, published a detailed description in April 1769. After fleeing with Lord William to Scotland, Sarah's family persuaded her to separate; by December, she was residing in a small manor house called Halnaker on the family estate, Goodwood House, with her daughter. It was not until 14 May 1776 that the decree of divorce was issued – divorces were expensive and rare in the 18th-century and required an Act of Parliament. Her sister Louisa was relieved that this event coincided with the bigamy trial of Elizabeth Chudleigh, which garnered much attention.
For twelve years, Sarah lived a self-described "solitary life" that was "sorrowfully confined", and was initially allowed to only socialise with family members. Halnaker was outdated, so after 7 years, her brother allowed for the construction of a new home on his estate, called Molecomb House. Sarah had a deep interest in architecture and assisted with its design. The historian Amy Boyington writes that the project "provided her with a sense of purpose and usefulness during the long years of social obscurity" and allowed her to finally "live independently and respectably." The finalization of her divorce in 1776 also allowed her to revert to using her maiden name and provided her with opportunities to travel away from Goodwood House.

Marriage to George Napier

In 1776, Lady Sarah befriended the Hon. George Napier, an impoverished army officer and younger son of the Scottish peer Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier. Though the connection was made through her brother Lord George, their relationship drew concern from her family since Napier was already married. He was pressured to transfer to another regiment and saw active service in the ongoing American Revolution. After the death of his wife, the pair were able to wed on 27 August 1781 at Goodwood House. They had eight children, three of whom would go on to have distinguished military careers in the British Army and another in the Navy.

Later life

As Lady Sarah Napier she was allowed to return to fashionable society, but never regained her former prominence. The marriage was happy, though they had a limited income; Sarah possessed a small annual allowance of £500 from her divorce settlement and often had to request the assistance of friends and relatives in finding military and government appointments for her husband. Her sister Louisa's husband, Thomas Conolly, allowed the growing family to live in his home at Stretton Hall, Staffordshire. Eventually, he bought a modest home in Celbridge, County Kildare, and rented it out to them.
Sarah's first child, Louisa Bunbury, lived with them. After suffering from a long illness, Louisa died of consumption at the age of seventeen, shortly after the birth of Sarah's third son. The grieving mother found solace in religion, praising her daughter's "angellick disposition" and writing that "her death carried up my thoughts to that Heaven where I know she is". Her second daughter, Emily Napier, was raised by Louisa. Sarah had a warm relationship with her children, striving to be a friend whom they could confide in, rather than dictating their actions. Sarah eventually resigned herself to their standard of living, writing that "we can feed, clothe, and keep our boys, though we can neither have carriages, dress, company or many luxuries". Her boys were raised as "servants of empire" alongside the sons of other prosperous families, not as members of the aristocratic class. Most of them would attain high ranks in the British Army or Navy.
George Napier's health worsened and he died on 13 October 1804 at the age of fifty-three. His death devastated Sarah, who wrote "I have lost him who made me like this world. It is now a dreary expanse... while he lived, I saw all objects through the medium of my own happiness." Sarah returned to London. George's will had left her nearly everything, including his debts. She sought financial assistance from King George, who in 1805 granted her a pension of £800 – nearly 50 years after his early courtship. Sarah used the funds to buy a residence at Cadogan Place. In her later years, her eyesight and mind started to fail and she died there on 26 August 1826 amongst her surviving children.

Legacy

One of the notorious Lennox sisters, Sarah is described by the historian Andrew Roberts as "one of the great femmes fatales of the era". Between 1769 and 1772, she – alongside the high-profile divorces of Henrietta Grosvenor and Penelope Ligonier – captivated London’s press and gossip circles, becoming a long-standing symbol of "feminized metropolitan licentiousness for years afterwards". During a 1788 episode of mental illness, George III’s invocation of Sarah's name contributed to his reputation of secretly being "a highly sexed puritan suffering from repressed sexuality".
A year into their first marriage, Charles Bunbury commissioned a portrait of his wife with the society painter Joshua Reynolds. The work, Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces, now sits on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. The work represents one of Reynolds's first – and most theatrical – efforts to fuse the genre of history painting with his modern subjects, often placing them in historical dress amidst classical scenery.
Many years after her death, Mary and Henry Fox-Strangways edited a two-volume collection of her correspondence. Published in 1901 with the title The Life and Letters of Lady Sarah Lennox, 1745-1826, the publication included nearly 60 years of letters with her close friend Susan Fox-Strangways and others. The New York Times in 1902 described the publication as "peculiarly interesting" correspondence that "preserves the memory of many noteworthy persons in graphic, intimate descriptions... a truly excellent mind whose discretion was only surpassed by its indiscretion".
The writer Priscilla Napier published many books about her husband's ancestors, and in 1971, released a biography of Sarah entitled The Sword Dance: Lady Sarah Lennox and the Napiers; drawing extensively from her letters, the work chronicles Sarah's early life at the British court and her ensuing two marriages before delving into the careers of her sons in the British Army. In 1994, the historian Stella Tillyard published a biography of the Lennox sisters, which was later adapted into a six-part series and released in the United Kingdom in 1999. It was called Aristocrats, and Sarah was played by the actress Jodhi May.