Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

Frances Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Charteris; 10 August 1915 – 19 February 1990), was a British noblewoman and socialite. She was variously Viscountess Long, Countess of Dudley and became Duchess of Marlborough upon her fourth marriage, to John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough. She was the sister of novelist Hugo Charteris and Ann Charteris (who married Ian Fleming),[1] as well as the granddaughter of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss. Her third husband, Michael Temple Canfield, was the former husband of Lee Radziwill, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. During World War II, she served as an auxiliary nurse.

Her Grace

The Duchess of Marlborough
Personal details
Born
Frances Laura Charteris

(1915-08-10)10 August 1915
London, England
Died19 February 1990(1990-02-19) (aged 74)
Portman Towers, Marylebone, London, England
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)
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(m. 1933; div. 1942)​

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(m. 1943; div. 1954)​

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(m. 1960; died 1969)​

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(m. 1972; died 1972)​
ChildrenAntoinette Sara Frances Sibell Long
ParentsThe Hon. Guy Lawrence Charteris
Frances Lucy Tennant
RelativesHugo Charteris (brother)

Early life

Frances Laura Charteris was born on 10 August 1915 at London, England, to Captain the Hon. Guy Lawrence Charteris (second son of the 11th Earl of Wemyss and Mary Constance Wyndham) and Frances Lucy Tennant,[2] daughter of a Scottish chemical merchant. Laura, as she was called, had 3 siblings, Ann, Mary Rose and Hugo. Their mother died of cancer in 1925 and the remainder of their childhood was spent shuffling between homes in London and family in Scotland, where their grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Wemyss, lived.[3] During World War II, she served as an auxiliary nurse for the Royal Navy.[4]

Marriages

On 14 November 1933, at St Margaret's Church, Westminster, London, England, she married Walter Francis David Long, 2nd Viscount Long. He was the son of Brigadier-General Walter Long and Sibell Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone. During her marriage, she was the Viscountess Long. Laura's only child, was the product of this union:[5] The couple divorced in 1942.[2]

  • Antoinette Sara Frances Sibell Long (born 9 Aug 1934)

Laura then married William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, son of William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley and Rachel Gurney, on 23 February 1943.[6] She was known as the Countess of Dudley until she and Ward divorced in 1954.[2]

On 13 June 1960, Laura married Michael Temple Canfield,[2] rumoured to have been the son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and American Alice “Kiki” Gwynne Preston.[7] Canfield was adopted as an infant by Cass Canfield, head of Harper and Row Publishing house[8] with his wife Katharine Emmet.[9] Michael Canfield was the previous husband of Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy's younger sister.[10]

Her fourth and final husband was John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough,[11][12] whom she married six weeks before his death in 1972.[13][14] From the time of this marriage, she became known as the Duchess of Marlborough.[2]

Laura died on 19 February 1990 at age 74 at Portman Towers, Marylebone, London, England.[2]

Autobiography

In 1980, she published her autobiography, Laughter from a Cloud. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980 (ISBN 978-0-297-77739-7)

Titles
  • 1915 — 1933: Miss Frances Laura Charteris
  • 1933 — 1942: The Right Honourable The Viscountess Long
  • 1942 — 1943: Frances, Viscountess Long
  • 1943 — 1954: The Right Honourable The Countess of Dudley
  • 1954 — 1960: Frances, Countess of Dudley
  • 1960 — 1971: Mrs Michael Temple Canfield
  • 1972 — 1972: Her Grace The Duchess of Marlborough
  • 1972 — 1977: Her Grace Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
  • 1977 — 1990: Her Grace The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough

References
  1. "Anne Geraldine Mary Charteris". The Peerage. Lundy Consulting Ltd. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  2. "Frances Laura Charteris". The Peerage. Lundy Consulting Ltd. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  3. Lycett, Andrew (2013). Ian Fleming (reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 93. ISBN 125-0-037-972.
  4. "Lycett (2013)", p 101
  5. "Long, Viscount (UK, 1921)". Cracrofts Peerage. Peerage Research Trust. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  6. "Frances Laura Charteris". Cracrofts Peerage. Peerage Research Trust. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  7. Campbell, Lady Colin (2012). The queen mother: the untold story of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, who became Queen Elizabeth the queen mother (First U.S. edition. ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 453. ISBN 978-1-250-01896-0.
  8. Pearson, John (2011). The private lives of Winston Churchill. London: Bloomsbury Reader. p. 228. ISBN 978-144-8-20783-1. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  9. "Deaths: CHURCHILL". The New York Times. 19 July 1964. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  10. "Roman Catholics: The Law's Delay". Time. 28 February 1964. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  11. Times, Special To The New York (19 January 1972). "Marlborough to Marry Mrs. Canfield". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  12. Weinraub, Judith (25 January 1972). "Future Duchess Looks to the Splendors of Blenheim". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  13. "John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke Marlborough". Cadogan Archive. Cadogan Archive. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  14. Times, Special To The New York (12 March 1972). "Duke of Marlborough Is Dead; Master of Blenheim Palace, 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
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