Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset

Her Grace The Duchess of Dorset
Portrait by Godfrey Kneller
Duchess consort of Dorset
Tenure	1720–1765
Born	Elizabeth Colyear c. 1689
Died	12 June 1768
Noble family	Colyear
Spouse(s)	Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
Issue	Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset Lord John Sackville George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville Elizabeth Thynne, Viscountess Weymouth Lady Caroline Sackville
Father	Lieutenant-General Walter Colyear
Occupation	Maid of honour to Anne, Queen of Great Britain Lady of the Bedchamber to Caroline of Ansbach, later Mistress of the Robes

Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset (c. 1689 – 12 June 1768), formerly Elizabeth Colyear, was a British court official and noble, the wife of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset.

She was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Walter Colyear (who was a brother of the Earl of Portmore). In 1703, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth came to court as a Maid of honour to Queen Anne, a position she inherited from her aunt Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester.[1]

They were married in January 1709, but the marriage was not made public until the duchess became pregnant.[1] The couple had five children in all:

• Charles, Earl of Middlesex (later 2nd Duke of Dorset; 1711–1769)
• Lord John Sackville (father of the 3rd Duke)
• Lord George Sackville (later Lord George Germain and 1st Viscount Sackville)
• Elizabeth (died 19 June 1729), who married Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth
• Caroline, who married Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester.

Between 1714 and 1737 She was a Lady of the Bedchamber[2] and to Caroline of Ansbach, wife of King George II of Great Britain. From 1723 to 1731 she was Caroline's Mistress of the Robes, a title that can be held by no one of lower rank than a duchess.[3] The arrangements for Caroline's appearance at her coronation in 1727 were, however, made by an experienced subordinate.[4]

References

1. Frances Harris. "The Honourable Sisterhood: Queen Anne's Maids of Honour" (PDF). British Library Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
2. "Household of Princess Caroline 1714-27". Institute of Historical Research. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
3. George Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume XII/2, p.589
4. The Book of the Court: Exhibiting the History, Duties, and Privileges of the Several Ranks of the English Nobility and Gentry, Particularly of the Great Officers of State, and Members of the Royal Household... H. G. Bohn. 1844. pp. 346–.

Court offices
Preceded by Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans	Mistress of the Robes to Caroline, Princess of Wales 1723–1727	Succeeded by Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk
Court offices
Preceded by Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset	Mistress of the Robes to the Queen 1727–1731	Succeeded by Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk