She was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Walter Colyear (who was a brother of the Earl of Portmore).

In 1703, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth came to court as a Maid of honour to Queen Anne, a position she inherited from her aunt Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester.

[1] The couple had five children in all: Between 1714 and 1737 She was a Lady of the Bedchamber[2] and to Caroline of Ansbach, wife of King George II of Great Britain.

From 1723 to 1731 she was Caroline's Mistress of the Robes, a title that can be held by no one of lower rank than a duchess.

[3] The arrangements for Caroline's appearance at her coronation in 1727 were, however, made by an experienced subordinate.