Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr

Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr and 1st Baroness Buckhurst, was born Lady Elizabeth Sackville on August 11, 1795. She died on January 9, 1870. She was a member of the British peerage with notable familial and marriage connections.

Early Life:

Lady Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, and Arabella Diana Cope. Her father served as a Member of Parliament for Kent, a Privy Councillor, and British Ambassador to France in Paris from 1783 to 1789. He also held the position of Lord Steward of the Household from 1789 to 1799. Her paternal grandparents were Lord John Philip Sackville, the second son of the 1st Duke of Dorset, and Lady Frances Leveson-Gower. Her mother was the eldest daughter and coheiress of Sir Charles Cope, 2nd Baronet, and Catherine Bisshopp, who was the sister of Cecil Bisshopp, 12th Baron Zouche. She had an older brother, George, who became the 4th Duke of Dorset, and a sister, Lady Mary Sackville, who married twice, firstly to Other Windsor, 6th Earl of Plymouth, and secondly to William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst. Upon her sister’s death, Lady Elizabeth inherited her estate at Knole.

Personal Life:

On June 21, 1813, she married George Sackville-West, who was the 5th Earl De La Warr. He was the son of John West, 4th Earl De La Warr, and Catherine Lyell. Her husband served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household from 1841 to 1846 under Sir Robert Peel and again from 1858 to 1859 under Lord Derby. He was sworn into the Privy Council in 1841.

Together, they had ten children, of whom nine survived to adulthood. Their children included:

- George West, Viscount Cantelupe (1814–1850), who died unmarried.

- Charles Sackville-West, 6th Earl De La Warr (1815–1873).

- Reginald Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr (1817–1896).

- Elizabeth Sackville-West, who became Duchess of Bedford (1818–1897); she married Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford, and had descendants.

- Mortimer Sackville-West, 1st Baron Sackville (1820–1888).

- A son born in 1822 who died in infancy.

- Lady Mary Catherine (1824–1900), who married first James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, and second Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby.

- Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville (1827–1908).

- William Sackville (1830–1905).

- Lady Arabella Diana (1835–1869), who married Sir Alexander Bannerman, 9th Baronet.

Death and Burial:

Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West died on January 9, 1870, and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Churchyard in Withyham, East Sussex.

Peerage:

On April 27, 1864, she was created Baroness Buckhurst, of Buckhurst in the County of Sussex, by Queen Victoria. The peerage was granted with a special remainder to her second surviving son, Reginald, and the heirs male of his body, with subsequent remainders to her third and fourth sons and their heirs male under conditions intended to prevent the barony and earldom from being held by the same individual. When Reginald inherited the barony in 1870 and the earldom in 1873, a dispute arose, as Mortimer, her younger son, attempted to claim the barony. The House of Lords ruled the remainders invalid, and Mortimer was created Baron Sackville as an alternative title.