Wife of one of Britain’s richest men, châtelaine of the Eaton Hall estate, and owner of 50 per cent of Mayfair. To be the Duchess of Westminster is to be one of the most privileged women on the planet. No doubt the thought crossed Olivia Henson’s mind when she took on the title, after marrying Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, in spectacular fashion last year. But, as one of her predecessor’s found out, even life in the lap of luxury can be a gilded cage.
Loelia Ponsonby, who passed away 32 years ago on November 1, married the 2nd Duke of Westminster in 1930. The partnership was, as James Lees-Milne wrote, “a definition of unadulterated hell.” What a testament to the extraordinary life of Loelia Ponsonby, later Lady Lindsay, that she refused to be defined by her hateful first marriage to one of the world’s wealthiest peers. A riotous Bright Young Thing who ruled the London social scene alongside Cecil Beaton and Evelyn Waugh, she was a virtuoso at needlepoint, a lauded hostess, and a talented journalist. Her memoir, Grace and Favour is considered one of the finest chronicles of aristocratic life that the country has to offer. Three decades after her death, here is everything you need to know about the marvelous Lady Lindsay, once the Duchess of Westminster.
The wedding, of course, was a magnificent affair. Hugh “Bendor” Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, had already been married twice, to Constance Cornwallis-West and Violet Nelson, and was known to have conducted an affair with Parisian couturier Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. Loelia, 22 years his junior at the time, was comparatively poor compared to her husband—though, compared to the Grosvenors, who isn’t? Her father, Sir Frederick Ponsonby, later 1st Baron Sysonby, was a courtier, who had served in the courts of Queen Victoria, Kings Edward VII and George V. As such, the family grew up between Sandringham, St James’ Palace, and Birkhall, though frequently absent parents meant that Loelia was a shy child, despite her handsome good looks. Her mother (beautiful, but overbearing) was Lady Sysonby. Well known for her cookbooks, Lady Sysonby taught her daughter the needlework skills for which she became so well-renowned.
A marriage of passion, then, and one that was announced amid a blaze of publicity. In a testament to the social and political power held by the 2nd Duke of Westminster, his best man was none other than Winston Churchill. The honeymoon, as recounted on the new Duchess’s Tatler cover, was spent on her husband’s yacht, an imitation of the Cutty Sark.
A year later, photographer Cecil Beaton captured the young Duchess in all her aristocratic splendor for an official portrait. Against a backdrop of white lilies, she sported the famous Westminster “halo” tiara. Commissioned by the 2nd Duke of Westminster and finished in seven panels by master jewelers Lacloche Frères, the priceless gem sparkles with a total of 1421 diamonds including two pear-shaped diamonds, originally a gift to Queen Charlotte by the Nawab of Arcot.
