The Duke and the Duchess of Richmond, by Jonathan Richardson. This portrait was made at the request of the Duke's grandmother Louise de Kérouaille, who wanted a portrait of her grandson and his wife.
She was born Sarah CadoganatThe Hague, the eldest daughter of William Cadogan (from 1716 1st Baron Cadogan of Reading and from 1722 1st Earl Cadogan) and his wife, Margaretta Cecilia Munter.[1] She was brought up in a convent and at the age of fourteen was married, on 4 December 1719, to Charles Lennox, Earl of March, at The Hague. The marriage was arranged by both fathers in order to cancel a gambling debt incurred by Lord Cadogan; after the marriage the Earl of March, aged eighteen, embarked on his Grand Tour.[2] On his return in 1722, the earl was reluctant to meet Sarah; he went to the theatre, glimpsed a young woman and asked who she was. "You must be a stranger in London not to know the toast of the town, the beautiful Lady March", was the reply.[3] In 1723, Charles succeeded to his father's title of Duke of Richmond, whereupon Sarah became Duchess of Richmond. They had a well-publicised happy and companionable marriage.
Sarah was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to Caroline of Ansbach when Princess of Wales, and remained in the post when Caroline became queen consort in 1727.[4] She received a salary of £500 per year but, despite the fact that the post represented the highest possible position at court, she would have carried out mundane duties, including ordering meals and clothes and dispatching servants to run errands.[3]
In the 1730s and 1740s, Sarah and her daughters were enthusiastic collectors of shells brought by naval captains returning to Portsmouth. They arranged the shells into elaborate patterns that were incorporated into a grotto in the park of the family's home in Sussex, Goodwood House.[3]
In 1999, a six-part BBC miniseries based on the lives of her daughters aired in the U.K. It was called Aristocrats and the Duchess was played by Diane Fletcher.
