Mary, Countess Of Falmouth

Mary Sackville, Countess of Falmouth and Dorset (born Bagot; 1645 – 12 September 1679), was an English courtier known for her connection to King Charles II.

Her parents were Colonel Henry Bagot and Dorothea Arden, of Pipe Hall, Warwickshire. In 1663, she married Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth. Her first husband died at the Battle of Lowestoft on 3 July 1665, due to cannon shot. They had one daughter, Mary Bagot (circa 1665 – 18 April 1693), who married Gilbert Cosins Gerard on 2 May 1681 but divorced in 1684.

Following the death of Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, in 1671, Mary Bagot was briefly considered as a potential bride for the widowed Duke of York, who later became King James II. However, her association with King Charles II led to her being overlooked for this match. Instead, James II married Mary of Modena.

In June 1674, Mary Bagot married Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, in a secret marriage as his first wife. Her marriage to Sackville was not publicly known at the time. She died in childbirth on 12 September 1679 and was buried at Withyan, Sussex.

Mary Sackville was among the Windsor Beauties, a series of portraits by Sir Peter Lely. Her portrait by Lely is notable and has been erroneously labeled in some 18th- and 19th-century prints and books as "Elizabeth, Countess of Falmouth," or as "Countess of Ossory." Many of these prints have been reprinted, contributing to the confusion over her identity.

References to her life and portraits are available through the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Collections Trust, and the National Trust at Knole. An 1832 archived source from the New York Public Library also contains information about her.