by Siân Evans
4. It was difficult … Geoffrey Harmsworth, ‘I Meet Hitler’, The Daily Dispatch, 1 October 1933, p11
5. his dank complexion … a dreadful revelation … Diana Cooper, from Philip Zeigler, Diana Cooper, Hamish Hamilton, 1981, p186
6. They only dine … Sibyl Colefax, letter to Berensen, 1933, Colefax MS Eng c. 3176, held in the Bodleian Library
7. I once heard … Nigel Nicolson, Long Life: Memoirs, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1997, p185
8. one of the greatest … Evening News, 30 June 1933
9. Not at all … Mrs Greville, in Charles Ritchie, The Siren Years, Macmillan, 1974, p99
10. Much talk about … Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, from Kenneth Young (ed.), The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, 1915-1938 (14 September and 17 October 1934), Macmillan, 1973
11. have not yet … The English Review, July 1936
12. forthcoming and agreeable … The Marquess of Londonderry, Ourselves and Germany, Penguin, 1938, p73 and p93
13. man of arresting … Lady Edith Londonderry, quoted in Anne De Courcey, Society’s Queen, Phoenix, 1992, p331
14. Lady Londonderry will … letter from Unity Mitford to Diana Mosley (8 February 1936), from Charlotte Mosley (ed.), The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters,
15. Londonderry just back … Harold Nicolson in Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 (20 February 1936), Phoenix, 2005, p157. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
16. a fat, unattractive … Elsa Maxwell, RSVP, Little, Brown and Company, 1954, p8
17. jolly, plain … Sir Henry Channon, in Robert Rhodes James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (5 April 1935), Phoenix, 1996
18. Story goes … Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, from Kenneth Young (ed.), The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, Macmillan, 1973, p331
19. The crown always … Sir Henry Channon in Robert Rhodes James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (13 January 1940), Phoenix, 1996, p231
Chapter eight
1. My impression … Sir Alan Lescalles, in Duff Hart-Davis (ed.), King’s Counsellor: Abdication and War: The Diaries of Sir Alan Lescalles (5 March 1943), Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2006
2. scorns the English … Bella Fromm, Blood and Banquets: A Berlin Social Diary, Carol Publishing Group, 1990, p205-6
3. The Channons … Harold Nicolson from Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 (20 September 1936), Fontana Books, 1969. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
4. Yes, I should find … ibid., letter to Vita Sackville-West, 12 June 1936
5. Cliveden, I admit … ibid., letter to Vita Sackville-West, 28 June 1936
6. Received by Ribbentrop … Sir Henry Channon in Robert Rhodes James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (5 April 1935), Phoenix, 1996
7. There were Rolls … Beverley Nichols, All I Could Never Be, Jonathan Cape, 1949, p274
8. I have never seen … letter from Harold Nicolson to Vita Sackville-West (11 June 1936), from Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939, Fontana Books, 1969. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
9. She looked old … Virginia Woolf, ‘Am I a Snob?’, from Jeanne Schulkind (ed.), Virginia Woolf: Moments of Being, Pimlico, 2002, p74
10. Huh … Rosina Harrison, Gentlemen’s Gentlemen: My friends in service, Arlington Books, 1976, p85, republished by Sphere as Gentlemen’s Gentlemen: from Boot Boys to Butlers, 2015. Reproduced by kind permission of Sphere.
11. It is evident … Harold Nicolson from Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 (2 April 1936), Phoenix, 1996. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
12. bright and witty … Cecil Beaton in Richard Burkle (ed.), Self Portrait with Friends: the Selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-1974, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979, p47
13. I forget … letter from Harold Nicolson to Vita Sackville-West (9 December 1936), from Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939, Fortune Books, 1969. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
14. From being the beloved … Sibyl Colefax quoted in Kirsty MacLeod, A Passion for Friendship: Sibyl Colefax and her Circle, Michael Joseph, 1991, p149
15. We all acclaim … letter from Mrs Margaret Greville to King George VI, 11 December 1936. From the Royal Archives.
16. The attitude of … Sir Alan Lascelles in Duff Hart-David (ed.), Abdication and War: The Diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2006, p414
17. Where are the friends … Osbert Sitwell, ‘Rat Week’, An Essay on the Abdication, Michael Joseph, 1986. Reproduced with kind permission of David Higham Associates.
18. The other day … letter from Queen Mary to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, 16 December 1936. Reproduced with kind permission from The Prince Paul of Yugoslavia papers, The Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, New York.
19. She was very upset … Rosina Harrison, My Life in Service, Cassell, 1975, p214
20. Really, she seems … Lady Nancy Astor in Adrian Fort, Nancy: The Story of Lady Astor, Vintage Books, p248
21. In England … Richard Collier, The Rainbow People, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984, p170
22. HRH is wearing … letter from Mrs Margaret Greville to Lord Reading, British Library, Mss Eur F118/27/27-105
23. I have no intention … Elephant story from Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric, Chatto and Windus, 1998, p171
Chapter nine
1. I discussed … The Marquess of Londonderry, Ourselves and Germany, Penguin, 1938, p73
2. extend the hand … ibid., p27-8
3. The more positive ‘isms’ … October, 1938 … The Marchioness of Londonderry, Retrospect, Frederick Muller Ltd, 1938, p256
4. I am completely … letter from Lord Londonderry to Hermann Goering, November 1939, quoted in Anne De Courcy, Society’s Queen: The Life of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, Phoenix, 1992, p352-3
5. … Dear Ivy Chamberlain … Beverley Nichols, All I Could Never Be, Jonathan Cape, 1949, p20
6. She is nothing … Harold Nicolson, from Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 (20 July 1937), Fontana, 1969. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
7. I have had … Margot Asquith, Autobiography, Penguin, 1920, p128
8. The Nazis … Bella Fromm, Blood and Banquets: A Berlin Social Diary (8 October 1933)
9. A visit … from a scrapbook in the archives at Polesden Lacey, 1930s
10. We both felt … letter from Queen Elizabeth to Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, 3 March 1938, Londonderry Papers, PRONI, D. 3099/3/13/5/15
11. Lady Cunard is … letter from Queen Elizabeth to Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry , 31 May 1937, PRONI, Londonderry Papers, D. 3099/13
12. Give a canary … Lord Berners quoted in Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric, Chatto and Windus, 1998, p163
13. A great London hostess … Elsa Maxwell quoted in Tilar J. Mazzeo, The Hotel on the Place Vendôme, HarperPerennial, 2014, p52
14. was not beautiful … ibid.
15. I do not believe … Harold Nicolson in Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 (10 April 1939), Fontana, 1969. Reproduced with the permission of the Harold Nicolson Estate.
16. War was not … Lord Bob Boothby, Recollections of a Rebel, Hutchinson, 1978, p78
17. There is no one … Sir Henry Channon in Robert Rhodes James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (4 August 1939), Phoenix, 1996
18. It is impossible … ibid., 24 August 1939
Chapter ten
1. as frail as a pack of cards … letter from Diana Cooper to John Julius Norwich from Darling Monster: The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to her son John Julius Norwich, 1939-1952, Chatto and Windus, 2013, p68
2. In the
Dorchester … Charles Ritchie, The Siren Years, Macmillan, 1974, p68
3. Dined at the Dorchester … ibid., p73
4. Today Plymouth … Nancy Astor quoted in the Western Morning News, 7 April 1941
5. Excitement is … New York Journal-American, Hearst Newspapers, 9 February 1942, quoted in John Lucas, Thomas Beecham: An Obsession with Music, The Boydell Press, 2008, p279-9
6. Emerald was gay … Sir Henry Channon in Robert Rhodes James (ed.), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon (16 November 1942), Phoenix, 1996
7. Dear Sibyl … letter from Lord Berners, quoted in Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric, Chatto and Windus, 1998, p187-8
8. Dined with the Masseys … Charles Ritchie, The Siren Years, Macmillan, 1942
9. it was too pathetic … letter from Queen Elizabeth to Osbert Sitwell, 13 September 1942, quoted in William Shawcross (ed.), Counting One’s Blessings: The selected letters of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Pan Macmillan, 2012, p324
10. That damned Ribbentrop … Beverley Nichols, All I Could Never Be, Jonathan Cape, 1949, p22-24
11. Laura Mae Corrigan … Time Magazine, 5 October 1942
12. Everyone was there … Noel Coward in Graham Payne and Sheridan Morley (eds.), The Noel Coward Diaries, Macmillan, 1983, p25
13. I am grateful … Lady Nancy Astor in a speech at Southport on 1 August 1942, quoted in Adrian Fort, Nancy: The Story of Lady Astor, Vintage, 2013, p294
14. There is still … The Marchioness of Londonderry, Retrospect, Frederick Muller Ltd, 1938, p253
15. the war … letter from Lord Londonderry to Lady Desborough, February 1945, quoted in Anne De Courcy, Society’s Queen: The Life of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, Phoenix, 1992, p365
Chapter eleven
1. He took most … Lord Boothby, Recollections of a Rebel, Hutchinson, 1978, p69
2. I haven’t seen her for years … Lord Berners, quoted in Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric, Chatto and Windus, 1998, p229
3. an extraordinary … Daily Mail, 12 July 1948
4. Those who loved … The Times, 17 July 1948
5. When I arrived … Nigel Nicolson, ‘Hostess with the Mostess’, The Spectator, 27 May 1994
6. No, I am not … Sibyl Colefax, in James Lees-Milne, Diaries 1942-1954 (1 September 1948), John Murray Press, 2006, p258
7. poor little Coalbox …
8. Sibyl genuinely … Kenneth Clark, Another Part of the Wood, John Murray Press, 1974
9. When I last … Beverley Nichols, The Unforgiving Minute, W.H. Allen, 1978, p150
10. still full of vitality … Noel Coward, The Noel Coward Diaries (1 May 1955), edited by Graham Payne and Sheridan Morley, Macmillan, p265
11. I went into … Rosina Harrison, Rose: My Life in Service, Cassell, 1975, p260
Chapter twelve
1. Giving parties … Elsa Maxwell, RSVP, Little, Brown and Company. Reproduced with kind permission of the Permissions Company Inc.
2. What I really like … Nancy Astor, quoted in Adrian Fort, Nancy: The Story of Lady Astor, Vintage, 2013, p214
3. A social Napoleon … Beverley Nichols, All I Could Never Be, Jonathan Cape, 1949, p13
4. Laura was a … Elsa Maxwell, RSVP: Elsa Maxwell’s Own Story, Little, Brown and Company, p22. Reproduced with kind permission of the Permissions Company Inc.
5. As a little girl … Laura Corrigan quoted in Pamela Horn, Country House Society: The Private Lives of England’s Upper Class, Amberley Publishing, 2013, p50
Every reasonable effort has been made to contact the copyright holders, but if there are any errors or omissions, John Murray Press will be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent printing of this publication.
For a full list of further reading please visit www.tworoadsbooks.com/non-fiction/queen-bees-sian-evans/
Picture acknowledgements
Alamy: 2 above/© National Trust Photo Library/painting by John Singer Sargent 1908/photo John Hammond, 2 below/© SOTK2011, 4 above right/War Archive/painting by Philip de Laszlo 1918, 5 above right/© Man Ray/Courtesy Everett Collection, 6 above/ © V&A Images. © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s: 3 below, 4 below left, 5 below left, 8 below left. Getty Images: 5 above left/photo W.G. Phillips, 6 below/Fox Photos, 7 above/The LIFE Picture Collection/photo Hans Wild. © David Low/Solo Syndication: 7 below. © Mirrorpix/Bridgeman Images: 8 above left. © National Trust/Richard Holttum: 1 below. © National Trust Images: 1 above/painting by Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran 1891/photo John Hammond, 4 above left/painting by Philip de Laszlo 1927/photo John Hammond, 8 above right. Private Collection; 3 above/ The Hall of Argyll House, painting by Sir John Lavery (1856-1941).
Every reasonable effort has been made to contact the copyright holders, but if there are any errors or omissions, John Murray Press will be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent printing of this publication.
Acknowledgements
A great many people were extremely helpful and generous in sharing their knowledge and expertise while I was researching and writing this book. I would especially like to thank the following individuals, who contributed in so many ways:
Diane Banks, Angela Barrett, Grant Berry, Vicky Bevan, Philip Baldwin, Pam Burbridge, Pamela Clarke, Roger Coleman, Damian Collins MP, Alison Dalby, Paul Dearn, Harvey Edgington, Sarah Evans, Mark Fifield, Cara Wallace, Clare Gogerty, Cathy Gosling, Susannah Handley, Kate Hewson, Lisa Highton, David Kitt, Avril Loughlin, Sue Lovett, Jonathan Marsh, Steve Price, Nigel Porter, Polly Powell, Chris Rowlin, John Stachiewicz, and Lauren Taylor.
Index
2, Temple Place
5, Carlton House Terrace
5, Montagu Square
4, St James’s Square
7, Grosvenor Square
8, Elliott Terrace, Plymouth
11, Charles Street
16, Charles Street
16 Grosvenor Street
20, Cavendish Square
44 Bedford Square
44 Grosvenor Square
100 Eaton Square
Abdication
Abdy, Sir Robert
à Court Repington, Charles
Acton, Harold
Adderley, Peter Broughton
Addison, Mrs
‘Adelaide Pyrex’ (Sibyl Colefax)
Air Ministry, the
Albert, Prince Consort
Albert, Prince, Duke of York, later George VI (aka ‘Bertie’)
Alfonso, King of Spain
Amalienburg Room
‘American Angel, the’ see also Laura Mae Corrigan
American Civil War
Amery MP, Leo
Ancaster, Eloise
Ancaster, Nancy
Anderson, Helen (mother of Margaret Greville)
Anderson, William Murray
Anschluss, the (Annexation of Austria) Anson, Sir Denis
Anti-Semitism in Britain
Anti-Semitism in Germany
Apsley House
Aquitania, the
Argyll House
Arlen, Michael
Armistice, the
Armitage, Gilbert
Armstrong-Taylor, Mrs David
Ashcombe, Lord and Lady
Ashes, The
Ashley, Colonel
Ashley, Edwina, see also Lady Mountbatten
Ashley, Lord
Ashley, Mary (later Mary Cunningham-Reid)
Asquith, Lady Margot
Asquith, Lord Henry
Asquith, Elizabeth
Asquith, Raymond
‘Astorgruppe’, the
Astor, Mamie
Astor, Lady Nancy, née Langhorne
Description
Family background
As MP
and Women’s Suffrage
International travel
Views on alcohol
Marriage to Robert Gould Shaw II
Marriage to Waldorf Astor
Children
Christian Sci
ence beliefs
During the Great War
Relationship with Winston Churchill
As MP
Divorce
As mimic
And George Bernard Shaw
And servants
Physical activity
On golf
Wealth
Love of speed
and Soviet Union
Prince of Wales
Pro-Nazi accusations
On Communism
On Jews
On Catholicism
On Mussolini
And von Ribbentrop
Relationship with Lady Londonderry
And Philip Sassoon
And Wallis Simpson
On maternal and infant mortality
During World War II
Resentment of Waldorf
Reconciliation with Waldorf
Later years
‘Madam’
Death
Astor, William Waldorf, Viscount Astor (‘Old Moneybags’ and ‘Walled-off Astor’)
Astor, William Waldorf (‘Bill’ or ‘Billie’)
Astor, (Nancy) Phyllis Louise (‘Wissie’)
Astor, (Francis) David Langhorne
Astor, Michael
Astor, John Jacob (brother of Waldorf)
Astor, John Jacob II
Astor, John Jacob VII (‘Jakie’)
Astor, Waldorf
Meets Nancy
Becomes MP
During the Great War
Inherits title
Visits Soviet Union
Meets Hitler
Pro-German accusations
And World War II
later years
reconciliation with Nancy and death
Auden, W. H.
‘Bacon the butler’
Bagehot, Walter
Bagnold, Enid
Bakst, Léon
Baldwin, Lucy
Baldwin, Stanley
Balfour, A. J.
Balfour, Patrick (later Lord Kinross)
Ballets Russes
Balmoral
Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt, (see also Marlborough, Duke of)
Baltimore
Balzac, Honoré
Bank of England
Barnato, ‘Babe’
