Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex (1723 – 10 May 1763), formerly the Hon. Grace Boyle, was the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex and later 2nd Duke of Dorset. Grace was born in London, the daughter and sole heir of

Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon Field Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, PC (1675 – 20 December 1740) was a British army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of the Boyne during the Williamite War in Ireland and at the Battle of L ...

, and his wife Grace. She inherited the family seat of Ashley Park following her father's death in 1740. She married the Earl of Middlesex in 1744, but he did not inherit his father's title of Duke of Dorset until after her death. The couple had no children. From 1747 to 1763, the countess held the position of

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg ( – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of King George II. She never became queen consort, as Frederick predeceased his father ...

, the Princess of Wales. Her husband was a friend of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

, and the countess was rumoured to have been the prince's mistress. When her mother died in 1755, the countess arranged a memorial, designed by Louis François Roubiliac, to her parents, which was erected at St Mary's parish church in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part ...

. The countess was something of an artist and may have been a pupil of the painter

Arthur Pond Arthur Pond (–1758) was an English painter and engraver. Life Born about 1705, he was educated in London, and stayed for a time in Rome studying art, in company with the sculptor Roubiliac. He became a successful portrait-painter. From 1 ...

. On her death, the countess left Ashley Park not to her husband but to a cousin, Colonel John Stephenson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middlesex, Grace Sackville, Countess of 1723 births 1763 deaths British courtesy countesses

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

Daughters of viscounts 18th-century British women Mistresses of the Robes Court of George II of Great Britain