Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland

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Philip Alexius de László : Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, oil on canvas, 1912

Winifred Anna Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland GBE (born Dallas-Yorke , born September 7, 1863 at Murthly Castle in Perthshire ; † July 30, 1954 at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire ) was a British noblewoman and Lord Chamberlain ( Mistress of the Robes ) with Queen Alexandra .

Life

John Singer Sargent : Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duches of Portland, oil on canvas, 1902

Winifred Anna was the daughter of rich Scottish landowner Thomas Yorke Dallas-Yorke and his wife Elizabeth Thynne. Her childhood revolved around perfect behavior and social representation, which she refined at the French boarding school Les Ruches in Fontainebleau by Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre . After the early death of her parents, she became one of Britain's wealthiest heiresses.

On June 11, 1889, Winifred Anna Dallas-Yorke married in St. George's Church (Hanover Square) in the City of Westminster ( London ) the peer William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland (1857–1943), son of Lt .-Gene. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck and his first wife, Elizabeth Sophia Hawkins-Whitshed. The marriage, which all reports said was a happy one, had three children:

  • Victoria Alexandrina Violet (February 27, 1890 - May 8, 1994) ⚭ 1918 Captain Michael John Erskine-Wemyss (1888–1982)
  • William Arthur Henry (March 16, 1893 - March 21, 1977), 7th Duke of Portland ⚭ 1915 Lady Ivy Gordon-Lennox (1887–1982)
  • Francis Morven Dallas (July 27, 1900 - August 22, 1950), Lord Cavendish-Bentinck

After her marriage to the 6th Duke of Portland, Winifred was soon considered to be an outstanding high society lady in London society. In addition to her social responsibilities, Lady Cavendish-Bentinck belonged to the circle of friends of the Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII and his wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark . Her daughter, who was named Victoria Alexandrina Violet in honor of Queen Victoria and the Princess of Wales, was even their godchild.

During their marriage, Lady Cavendish-Bentinck was involved in several charitable organizations; A major concern was to improve the living conditions of the mining workers and their families. She also actively supported animal welfare and in particular the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , of which she was Vice President.

Her name was in her different phases of life

  • 1863–1889 Winifred Anna Dallas-Yorke
  • 1889–1943 Winifred Anna Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland
  • 1943–1953 Winifred Anna Cavendish-Bentinck, Dowager Duchess of Portland

Awards

Others

Lady Ottoline Morrell was her husband's half-sister. She achieved fame above all through her social role as a host for a circle of writers and artists around the Bloomsbury Group , as well as through her affairs with several prominent contemporaries, including Bertrand Russell , Augustus John , Roger Fry and Dora Carrington .

literature

  • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland: The Red Deer of Langwell and Braemore, 1880-1934. London 1935.
  • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland: Men, Women and Things. London 1937.
  • Peter W. Hammond: The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times. Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda, Sutton Publishing, Gloucester 1998.
  • George Edward Cokayne , Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Alan Sutton Publishing, Gloucester 2000.
  • Charles Mosley: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington 2003.

Web links