Born on 20 August 1871 at 40
Upper Brook Street in
Mayfair, London, Lady Sybil was the daughter of
Robert Francis St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn and Blanche Adeliza Fitzroy. Her sisters were
Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland and
Lady Angela Forbes;
Daisy, Countess of Warwick was a half-sister, from their mother’s previous marriage to Hon. Charles Henry Maynard. She was renowned for her beauty, and had no qualms about enhancing it by the use of cosmetics, which was considered daring at the time. She was connected with the group known as
The Souls, having been introduced by
George Curzon. •
Lt.-Comm. the Hon. Vere Anthony Francis St Clair Fane, 14th Earl of Westmorland (15 March 1893 – 12 May 1948) • Lady Enid Victoria Rachel Fane (24 April 1894 – 9 September 1969); married Major Herbert Broke Turnor. They were the maternal grandparents of Neil McCorquodale, who married
Lady Sarah Spencer (elder sister of
Diana, Princess of Wales). • Maj. the Hon. Mountjoy John Charles Wedderburn Fane (8 October 1900 – 9 October 1963) • Lady Violet Gloria Sybil Fane (11 April 1902 – 9 September 1969) In July 1897 Sybil attended the
Duchess of Devonshire’s grand ball, at
Devonshire House in Piccadilly, London. The ball was held in celebration of
Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, and was one of the most extravagant aristocratic parties ever. Guests were asked to attend dressed as allegorical or historical figures from before 1815. Sybil dressed as
Hebe, goddess of youth, carrying a gold cup in her hand, with an enormous stuffed eagle strapped to her shoulders, in imitation of a painting by
Joshua Reynolds. The society photographers, Lafayette Studios of
Bond Street London, erected a tent in the garden, and the printed photographs of the guests still exist in the Devonshire archives at
Chatsworth.
Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough remembered Sybil as the outstanding beauty of the Devonshire House Ball: :"She had perhaps the most perfect face. I can see her now in a Greek peplum impersonating Hebe. The grey feathers of a life-like stuffed eagle perched on her shoulder, set off the glorious sheen of her red hair". Sybil, Countess of Westmorland was the inspiration behind the character
Lady Roehampton in
Vita Sackville-West's novel,
The Edwardians. Lady Westmorland died at 58 Queen Anne’s Street in
Marylebone, London on 21 July 1910, aged 38, and was buried in the
Rosslyn Chapel. ==Gallery==