Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex

Anne Lennard Countess of Sussex
Lady Anne at about age four by Sir Peter Lely.
Born	(1661-02-25)25 February 1661 Westminster, England
Died	16 May 1721 or 1722 (aged 60 or 61) England
Resting place	St Peter and St Paul New Churchyard, Lynsted, Swale Borough, Kent, United Kingdom
Nationality	English
Occupation	Courtier
Spouse(s)	Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex
Children	Barbara Skelton Anne Barrett-Lennard, 16th Baroness Dacre
Parent(s)	Charles II of England (disputed) Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland

Anne Lennard (née Palmer), Countess of Sussex (25 February 1661 – 16 May 1721 or 1722) was the eldest daughter of Barbara Palmer, mistress to King Charles II of England. She became the wife of Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex, 15th Baron Dacre.

Born Lady Anne Palmer in Westminster, England, she was the first child of Barbara Palmer, who was married to Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine, and who was also a mistress of Charles II. According to legend, Anne was conceived on the night of Charles's Coronation. Both Palmer and the king acknowledged Anne as his daughter and she was known by the alias Fitzroy, meaning "son of the king," but she is also assigned to the 2nd Earl of Chesterfield, "whom," says Lord Dartmouth, "she resembled very much both in face and person."

On 11 August 1674, at the age of thirteen, Lady Anne was married at Hampton Court to the 15th Baron Dacre, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the King. On the same day her ten-year-old sister Lady Charlotte Fitzroy was contracted to Sir Edward Lee (raised from an early baronetcy to the Earldom of Lichfield two months before, and also a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber). Both the wedding and her dowry were paid for by Charles II. Dacre was subsequently created Earl of Sussex.