Mary Curzon, Lady Howe

The Right Honourable
The Countess Howe
Photograph of Lady Howe, 1909
Personal details
Born
Mary Curzon

October 30, 1887
DiedSeptember 1, 1962(1962-09-01) (aged 74)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1907; div. 1937)​
ChildrenEdward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe
Lady Georgiana Curzon
Parent(s)Montagu Curzon
Esmé FitzRoy
RelativesRichard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe (grandfather)
NicknameQueen of Beauty

Mary Curzon, Lady Howe (30 October 1887 – 1 September 1962) was an English aristocrat dubbed by the newspapers the Queen of Beauty.

Early life

Mary Curzon was born on 30 October 1887, the only daughter of Esmé FitzRoy and Col. Montagu Curzon, the eldest son, by his second wife, of Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe.[1] Her brother, William Montagu Curzon-Herrick, was married to Lady Maud Hastings (daughter of Warner Hastings, 15th Earl of Huntingdon).[2]

Her maternal grandfather was Francis Horatio FitzRoy (son of Admiral Lord William FitzRoy and grandson of Prime Minister Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton).[2]

Personal life

On 28 October 1907 she married her first cousin,[3] who was then known as Francis, Viscount Curzon (1884–1964). Francis was the son, and later heir, of Richard Curzon, 4th Earl Howe and his first wife Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Spencer-Churchill (fifth daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough and Lady Frances Vane).[4][5] Before their divorce in 1937, they were the parents of:[6]

Lady Howe died on 1 September 1962. Upon her ex-husband's death in 1964, her son, Edward inherited the title and became the 6th Earl Howe.

Reputation

In 1912, she was dubbed the "Queen of Beauty," when she appeared in that role in Patsy Cornwallis-West's Eglinton Tournament at Shakespeare's England.[7] The newspapers talked about her as one of the loveliest women in England ever. "England's most beautiful peeress," and "A perfect specimen of English beauty".[7]

In The Book Of Beauty by Cecil Beaton, Lady Howe is described as "the elegance of the aristocrat combined with the excessive prettiness that accompanies carnation-pink cheeks and yellow hair. She is gracefully statuesque, her height is superb, her neck swan-like, and her poreless complexion is like icing-sugar on a birthday cake. [...] there is no living beauty who can create more of an effect than she when entering a ballroom or sitting in a box at the opera."[7]

References

  1. ^ Dod, Charles Roger (1844). The Peerage Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland... Whittaker. p. 453. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
  3. ^ Brock, Michael; Brock, Eleanor (2014). Margot Asquith's Great War Diary 1914-1916: The View from Downing Street. Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-19-101708-7. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Autumn Marriages". The Bystander: An Illustrated Weekly, Devoted to Travel, Literature, Art, the Drama, Progress, Locomotion: 160. 1907. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  5. ^ "The Wedding of Cousins: Viscount Curzon, Who is to Marry Miss Mary Curzon". The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. Ingram brothers: 14. 1907. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Howe, Earl (UK, 1821)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Beaton, Cecil (1933). The Book Of Beauty. Retrieved 17 January 2018.