The 20th Century Elizabeth Craven
The name Elizabeth Craven cropped up again and again in the history of the Craven family. In the middle of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Gwendolen Theresa Johnstone-Douglas married the 6th Earl of Craven, and so she became another Elizabeth Craven. But becoming Countess of Craven was no means a smooth or easy path.
Eliza, as she was known, was born in 1916. She was the daughter of an artist, Sholto Johnstone-Douglas, a distant relative of the Marquess of Queensberry. Sholto was a war-artist in World War I, and in 1926 he and his family moved into the Villa Marie at Valescure near Saint-Raphael in the South of France. The house had previously been occupied by Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. The French Riviera was the playground of rich aristocrats in the interwar years, and the social scene was distinctly lively.
In 1935, Eliza was invited to a fancy-dress party given by the Marquis and Marquise de Chabannes, known as the "Cous-Cous party" as they loved all things Moroccan. Eliza was nineteen and looked stunning in her costume as a Hawaian girl.
Unfortunately to some of these bright young things horseplay did not stop at fancy dress but went much further to include practical jokes that were way over the top.
In 1939 Eliza met and fell in love with William Robert Bradley Craven, the still young Earl of Craven, known as 'Bobbie' to his friends. But before he could marry her, some of his friends decided it would be a jolly jape to get him drunk and take him to the Registry Office where he he was tricked into marrying a girl he had never met before, Irene Meyrick, the daughter of a London nightclub owner.
Getting a divorce in 1939 was by no means simple - you had to prove adultery, cruelty or desertion. "No-fault divorce" had not been invented. If only one partner wanted to end a marriage, and the other refused, there was no easy fix. To make everything even more complicated, Bobbie Craven was a Roman Catholic, and in order to re-marry he would need an annulment, not merely a divorce. And even if he got a divorce, he would be stuck supporting Irene for the rest of her life.
War broke out and Bobbie went to fight, joining the Coldstream Guards. The Johnstone-Douglas family left France when it was invaded and came back to Surrey, where Eliza had to look after her invalid brother Robert. She waited patiently for Bobbie, and they wrote letters. It was not until 1954 that he was finally able to get the divorce - and the annulment - so that he and Eliza could marry.
They had three children: two sons and a daughter. Tragically, Bobbie died from leukaemia in 1965 at the age of 47, so in that year Tom, their eldest son, became the Earl of Craven. Eliza lived on until very recently, dying in 2011 at the age of 95.
Eliza, as she was known, was born in 1916. She was the daughter of an artist, Sholto Johnstone-Douglas, a distant relative of the Marquess of Queensberry. Sholto was a war-artist in World War I, and in 1926 he and his family moved into the Villa Marie at Valescure near Saint-Raphael in the South of France. The house had previously been occupied by Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. The French Riviera was the playground of rich aristocrats in the interwar years, and the social scene was distinctly lively.
In 1935, Eliza was invited to a fancy-dress party given by the Marquis and Marquise de Chabannes, known as the "Cous-Cous party" as they loved all things Moroccan. Eliza was nineteen and looked stunning in her costume as a Hawaian girl.
The famous Cous-cous party at the Maquis, Valescure. March 2nd 1935.
In 1939 Eliza met and fell in love with William Robert Bradley Craven, the still young Earl of Craven, known as 'Bobbie' to his friends. But before he could marry her, some of his friends decided it would be a jolly jape to get him drunk and take him to the Registry Office where he he was tricked into marrying a girl he had never met before, Irene Meyrick, the daughter of a London nightclub owner.
Getting a divorce in 1939 was by no means simple - you had to prove adultery, cruelty or desertion. "No-fault divorce" had not been invented. If only one partner wanted to end a marriage, and the other refused, there was no easy fix. To make everything even more complicated, Bobbie Craven was a Roman Catholic, and in order to re-marry he would need an annulment, not merely a divorce. And even if he got a divorce, he would be stuck supporting Irene for the rest of her life.
Elizabeth Johnstone-Douglas in about 1950.
War broke out and Bobbie went to fight, joining the Coldstream Guards. The Johnstone-Douglas family left France when it was invaded and came back to Surrey, where Eliza had to look after her invalid brother Robert. She waited patiently for Bobbie, and they wrote letters. It was not until 1954 that he was finally able to get the divorce - and the annulment - so that he and Eliza could marry.
It looks as if she is wearing a chandelier in this photograph.
They had three children: two sons and a daughter. Tragically, Bobbie died from leukaemia in 1965 at the age of 47, so in that year Tom, their eldest son, became the Earl of Craven. Eliza lived on until very recently, dying in 2011 at the age of 95.
A fascinating portrait of a great lady who sadly had to face a lot of personal tragedies as Countess of Craven. Her rather formidable mother-in-law was the American-born Cornelia, Countess of Craven, née Cornelia Bradley Martin, and the daughter of a wealthy New York banker.
ReplyDeleteBetween 1954 and 1961 there were actually no less than three living Countesses of Craven, including the widows of the 4th and 5th Earls.
The current 9th Earl of Craven (b.1989) is the grandson of Elizabeth, Countess of Craven.
I think Cornelia would be worth a post of her own! Have meant to do one for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI met Tom in London in the 70’s ..he was a lovely boy who was building a motorbike and gave his maiden speaach in the House of Lords of the conservation of hedgehogs..back which way back then was considered amusing to say the least…today would have been Tom’s 65th birthday ..rest in Peace Tom ..Susan ….
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