Elizabeth Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (''née'' Stanhope, May 1663 – 24 April 1723), was an English noblewoman and the wife of Scottish peer

John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (16631712) was a Scottish nobleman and peer. He was the son of Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He married Elizabeth Stanhope on 21 September 1691 and was succeeded as Earl by h ...

. Born to Lady Elizabeth Butler and

Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield PC FRS (1634 – 28 January 1714) was a peer in the peerage of England.G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Comp ...

, her paternity was in doubt. It is possible that her actual father was James, Duke of York, who would in 1685 ascend the throne as King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

. She was the subject of three portraits in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

published by Alexander Browne after

Sir Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. Life Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...

. These are displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Family

Lady Elizabeth was born in May 1663 at Bretby,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, the daughter of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, and Lady Elizabeth Butler, eldest daughter of

James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...

. Her father had been the lover of the notorious

Barbara Villiers Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of Eng ...

, mistress of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. Historian

Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and pr ...

describes Elizabeth's mother as having been one of the mistresses of the Duke of York.

Marriage and issue

John Lyon, 5th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

On 21 September 1691, Elizabeth married Scottish nobleman John Lyon, son of

Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (29 May 1643 – 15 May 1695) was a Scottish peer and nobleman. He was the son of John Lyon, 2nd Earl of Kinghorne and his wife Lady Elizabeth Maule, daughter of Patrick Maule, 1st Earl of Panmu ...

. In May 1695, almost four years after their marriage, he succeeded his father as the 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne; and from that time onwards, she was styled Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Together they had 10 children: * Patrick Lyon, Lord Glamis (1692- September 1709) * Philip Lyon, Lord Glamis (29 October 1693 – 18 March 1712), died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in London; he was unmarried. *

John Lyon, 5th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(27 April 1696 – 13 November 1715), was killed at the Battle of Sheriffmuir while fighting for the Jacobite cause. Died unmarried. *

Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (c. 1699 – 11 May 1728) was a Peerage of Scotland, Scottish peer and nobleman. He was the son of John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. His exact date of birth is unknown but he was b ...

(baptised 12 July 1699 – 11 May 1728), was killed in a brawl; he married Lady Susan Cochrane, but had no legitimate issue. * Hendrie Lyon (born 1 July 1700), died young. * James Lyon, 7th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (baptised 24 December 1702 – 4 January 1735); a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, he married Mary Oliphant, however, their marriage was childless. *

Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore (1704 – 18 January 1753) was a Scottish nobleman, and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1735, when he resigned upon succeeding to the peerage as Earl of Strathmore. Lyon was bapt ...

(baptised 6 July 1704 – 18 January 1753), married Jean Nicholson (died 13 May 1778), by whom he had issue.

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...

, Queen consort of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

was one of his numerous descendants. * Lady Helen Lyon (baptised 8 January 1695 – 19 December 1723), married Robert Stuart, 7th Lord Blantyre; her only son died young * Lady Mary Lyon (baptised 16 April 1697 – 26 May 1780), unmarried. * Lady Catherine Lyon (baptised 24 April 1707), died young.

Death

Elizabeth died on 24 April 1723 at Castle Lyon in Scotland. She was not quite 60 years old.

References

* www.thePeerage.com * Antonia Fraser, ''King Charles II'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd., London, 1979 {{DEFAULTSORT:Strathmore, Elizabeth Lyon, Countess of Scottish countesses Daughters of British earls 1663 births 1723 deaths

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

17th-century Scottish people 17th-century Scottish women 18th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish women