Bertie, Elizabeth... and the royal matchmaker
Margaret Greville ‘rose without a trace’ to become a supreme society hostess, collecting kings and commoners, millionaires and maharajahs. Concealing her humble origins, she charmed the Royal Family. But her favourites were Bertie and Elizabeth, whose lengthy courtship she fostered.
Margaret was born in 1863, supposedly to a workingclass Scottish couple, William Murray Anderson and his wife, Helen. She was actually the natural daughter of William McEwan, a wealthy brewer, who sent his unmarried mistress, Helen Anderson, to London to have their baby, accompanied by his trusted employee, who conveniently had the same surname.
Twenty-two years later, Mr McEwan, now a millionaire, married Helen and young Margaret was thrust into London society. In 1891 she married Lord Greville’s eldest son, Ronald, a friend of the future King Edward VII, and became known as ‘Mrs Ronnie’.
The Duke and Duchess of York on their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey (1923)
But by the time she was 50, she was alone and childless, after both parents, her husband and the King, had died. Having inherited the modern equivalent of £60m, however, Mrs Ronnie reinvented herself as the ‘favourite aunt’ of the Royal Family.
In May 1914, she offered to leave her glorious country house, Polesden Lacey in Surrey, and an endowment to one of King George V’s children. The cash bequest alone was the modern equivalent of £15m, and Polesden Lacey was allocated to Prince Albert, their second son, as the Prince of Wales would inherit the royal residences.
Young ‘Bertie’ often stayed at Polesden, mingling with ambassadors and aristocrats, far from his alarmingly peppery father. He had an incapacitating stammer, but sympathetic Mrs Ronnie wrote to his mother ‘fancy a delightful young radiant being like that being so charming to me…’ And she helped him woo, win and then marry his great love.
Bertie first met Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1920 through his equerry, James Stuart. Elizabeth, the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, of Glamis Castle, was pretty and vibrant. To encourage the romance, Mrs Ronnie invited Elizabeth to Bertie’s 25th birthday party.
One potential obstacle was that Elizabeth was very fond of James Stuart – but rather conveniently he was offered a chance to learn about the oil business by Sir Sidney Greville, a distant relative by marriage, and an old friend of Mrs Ronnie. Suddenly, he found himself dispatched to Oklahoma.
Elizabeth went on to twice reject Bertie’s marriage proposals, so during Christmas 1922, Mrs Ronnie threw a ball for the couple at her Mayfair home. Bertie was accompanied by the Prince of Wales, and two rather odd stories subsequently appeared in the press.
Suspicion falls on Mrs Ronnie, who often planted stories with favoured journalists. The first suggested an engagement between Bertie and Elizabeth, mentioning their hostess’s role as matchmaker in the recent marriage of the Mountbattens. The second erroneously stated that the Prince of Wales was engaged to marry the eligible daughter of an unnamed Scottish lord. This alarmed Elizabeth and galvanised Bertie into proposing yet again, on 13 January 1923. Finally, she said yes.
Left: Mrs Ronnie at Polesden Lacey. Right: a copy of The Lady from May 1923
The ever practical Mrs Greville bought them £1,000-worth of household linens as a wedding present, and offered Polesden Lacey for the honeymoon. The newlyweds could occupy the elegant first-floor private suite, designed for Edward VII, with glorious views across the rolling Surrey countryside.
Their wedding at Westminster Abbey on 26 April 1923 was popular as the Duke was marrying a British bride; memories of the Great War were still fresh, and Elizabeth placed her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, honouring the war dead.
After the wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace, and the obligatory balcony appearance, the Yorks were driven to Waterloo through cheering crowds, then went by train to Great Bookham for the welcome seclusion of Polesden Lacey.
Perhaps the Yorks represented the children Mrs Ronnie never had; writing to Queen Mary in 1928, she said ‘the Duke… has entirely won my heart, and he fills a great gap in my life’.’
The Yorks’ two little daughters enjoyed exploring both of Mrs Ronnie’s homes, and some believed that Princess Margaret’s name was a tribute to Mrs Greville. Her maverick manservants also appreciated the Yorks – on one occasion, drunken footmen vied to ply the Duchess with whisky throughout dinner.
‘No hostess stands higher in the esteem of the Royal Family,’ reported the Evening News in 1933, but Royal matchmaker Mrs Ronnie had failed with the Prince of Wales. He was besotted by the twice-married Mrs Simpson, and while society hostess Emerald Cunard cultivated the playboy prince and his chic girlfriend, others stayed loyal to the King and Queen.
The year 1936 – the ‘Year of Three Kings’ – was fraught. Following the death of King George V, and the subsequent abdication of Edward VIII, the Yorks were appalled at having to take over the throne. However, Mrs Ronnie wrote robust encouragement to the new King, commending his ‘greatness, modesty, unswerving sense of duty and everything that represents the best in English life…’
She attended their Coronation in 1937 and was regarded as a dear friend, exchanging gossipy letters with Elizabeth (one includes a joke about a new hat called ‘the Wallis’, because it was ‘shady, with no crown’). She also gave the new Queen a beautiful triple row of pearls, noting she was rather short of jewellery.
The Duke and Duchess of York, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose in 1935
When war erupted, the indomitable Mrs Ronnie opted to endure the Blitz at the Dorchester Hotel.
In September 1942, Osbert Sitwell dispatched to the Queen a moving account of Mrs Ronnie’s deathbed, as ‘she was so devoted to the King and Your Majesty’. But devotion had its limits; in her will, Mrs Ronnie bequeathed £20,000 to Princess Margaret, but Polesden Lacey was given to the National Trust, to be opened to the public, in memory of her father.
A dismayed Queen Mary wrote, ‘I am sorry she altered her will, but perhaps it would have been a white elephant…’ There were consolation prizes, however; magnificent diamond tiaras, necklaces and earrings were bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth. And now that she had jewels of her own to wear, Queen Mary could keep the historic gems she loved.
Having always used her enormous wealth to manipulate people, even in the arrangement of her final affairs, Mrs Ronnie couldn’t break the habit.
Mrs Ronnie: The Society Hostess Who Collected Kings, by Siân Evans, is published in hardback by National Trust Books, priced £16.99.
Margaret was born in 1863, supposedly to a workingclass Scottish couple, William Murray Anderson and his wife, Helen. She was actually the natural daughter of William McEwan, a wealthy brewer, who sent his unmarried mistress, Helen Anderson, to London to have their baby, accompanied by his trusted employee, who conveniently had the same surname.
Twenty-two years later, Mr McEwan, now a millionaire, married Helen and young Margaret was thrust into London society. In 1891 she married Lord Greville’s eldest son, Ronald, a friend of the future King Edward VII, and became known as ‘Mrs Ronnie’.
The Duke and Duchess of York on their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey (1923)But by the time she was 50, she was alone and childless, after both parents, her husband and the King, had died. Having inherited the modern equivalent of £60m, however, Mrs Ronnie reinvented herself as the ‘favourite aunt’ of the Royal Family.
In May 1914, she offered to leave her glorious country house, Polesden Lacey in Surrey, and an endowment to one of King George V’s children. The cash bequest alone was the modern equivalent of £15m, and Polesden Lacey was allocated to Prince Albert, their second son, as the Prince of Wales would inherit the royal residences.
Young ‘Bertie’ often stayed at Polesden, mingling with ambassadors and aristocrats, far from his alarmingly peppery father. He had an incapacitating stammer, but sympathetic Mrs Ronnie wrote to his mother ‘fancy a delightful young radiant being like that being so charming to me…’ And she helped him woo, win and then marry his great love.
Bertie first met Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1920 through his equerry, James Stuart. Elizabeth, the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, of Glamis Castle, was pretty and vibrant. To encourage the romance, Mrs Ronnie invited Elizabeth to Bertie’s 25th birthday party.
One potential obstacle was that Elizabeth was very fond of James Stuart – but rather conveniently he was offered a chance to learn about the oil business by Sir Sidney Greville, a distant relative by marriage, and an old friend of Mrs Ronnie. Suddenly, he found himself dispatched to Oklahoma.
Elizabeth went on to twice reject Bertie’s marriage proposals, so during Christmas 1922, Mrs Ronnie threw a ball for the couple at her Mayfair home. Bertie was accompanied by the Prince of Wales, and two rather odd stories subsequently appeared in the press.
Suspicion falls on Mrs Ronnie, who often planted stories with favoured journalists. The first suggested an engagement between Bertie and Elizabeth, mentioning their hostess’s role as matchmaker in the recent marriage of the Mountbattens. The second erroneously stated that the Prince of Wales was engaged to marry the eligible daughter of an unnamed Scottish lord. This alarmed Elizabeth and galvanised Bertie into proposing yet again, on 13 January 1923. Finally, she said yes.
Left: Mrs Ronnie at Polesden Lacey. Right: a copy of The Lady from May 1923The ever practical Mrs Greville bought them £1,000-worth of household linens as a wedding present, and offered Polesden Lacey for the honeymoon. The newlyweds could occupy the elegant first-floor private suite, designed for Edward VII, with glorious views across the rolling Surrey countryside.
Their wedding at Westminster Abbey on 26 April 1923 was popular as the Duke was marrying a British bride; memories of the Great War were still fresh, and Elizabeth placed her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, honouring the war dead.
After the wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace, and the obligatory balcony appearance, the Yorks were driven to Waterloo through cheering crowds, then went by train to Great Bookham for the welcome seclusion of Polesden Lacey.
Perhaps the Yorks represented the children Mrs Ronnie never had; writing to Queen Mary in 1928, she said ‘the Duke… has entirely won my heart, and he fills a great gap in my life’.’
The Yorks’ two little daughters enjoyed exploring both of Mrs Ronnie’s homes, and some believed that Princess Margaret’s name was a tribute to Mrs Greville. Her maverick manservants also appreciated the Yorks – on one occasion, drunken footmen vied to ply the Duchess with whisky throughout dinner.
‘No hostess stands higher in the esteem of the Royal Family,’ reported the Evening News in 1933, but Royal matchmaker Mrs Ronnie had failed with the Prince of Wales. He was besotted by the twice-married Mrs Simpson, and while society hostess Emerald Cunard cultivated the playboy prince and his chic girlfriend, others stayed loyal to the King and Queen.
The year 1936 – the ‘Year of Three Kings’ – was fraught. Following the death of King George V, and the subsequent abdication of Edward VIII, the Yorks were appalled at having to take over the throne. However, Mrs Ronnie wrote robust encouragement to the new King, commending his ‘greatness, modesty, unswerving sense of duty and everything that represents the best in English life…’
She attended their Coronation in 1937 and was regarded as a dear friend, exchanging gossipy letters with Elizabeth (one includes a joke about a new hat called ‘the Wallis’, because it was ‘shady, with no crown’). She also gave the new Queen a beautiful triple row of pearls, noting she was rather short of jewellery.
The Duke and Duchess of York, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose in 1935 When war erupted, the indomitable Mrs Ronnie opted to endure the Blitz at the Dorchester Hotel.
In September 1942, Osbert Sitwell dispatched to the Queen a moving account of Mrs Ronnie’s deathbed, as ‘she was so devoted to the King and Your Majesty’. But devotion had its limits; in her will, Mrs Ronnie bequeathed £20,000 to Princess Margaret, but Polesden Lacey was given to the National Trust, to be opened to the public, in memory of her father.
A dismayed Queen Mary wrote, ‘I am sorry she altered her will, but perhaps it would have been a white elephant…’ There were consolation prizes, however; magnificent diamond tiaras, necklaces and earrings were bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth. And now that she had jewels of her own to wear, Queen Mary could keep the historic gems she loved.
Having always used her enormous wealth to manipulate people, even in the arrangement of her final affairs, Mrs Ronnie couldn’t break the habit.
Mrs Ronnie: The Society Hostess Who Collected Kings, by Siân Evans, is published in hardback by National Trust Books, priced £16.99.