Lady Warwick, Silver & Leather Clutch Bag, With Royal Connection

Description

A Rare and most unusual Antique leather and silver mounted clutch bag which formerly belonged to Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick (1861-1938), mistress to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. The bag, which is in very good condition, was made by Jenner & Knewstud , of St James's Street London (stamped on the inside, the silver mounts are hallmarked, in several places, with the makers mark TWM, London Panther mark with a young Queen Victoria head, date letter A. The lid of the bag has the initials her initials in silver, surmounted by a silver crown. The bag has three compartments one of which has the original porcelain note pad mounted in leather (cracked) with Lady Warwick's name and the date March 4th 1905 - possibly given to a friend of hers. The bag opens and closes tightly.

Lady Warwick was born in Berkley Square in 1861, the youngest child of Lord Maynard. However, young Francis Evelyn 'Daisy' Maynard's fortune changed , when she inherited Easton House (Hall)and the Maynard Estate, in Essex, in 1865, after the death of her brother, Charles, who predeceased his father Lord Henry Maynard, by three months. Upon Lord Maynard's death she became incredibly wealthy, yet philanthropic in her many concerns for the less educated and less well-off. Being both beautiful and intelligent she attracted the attention of several gentlemen, and bore several children of different fathers. Her 'secret' affair with the Prince of Wales resulted in her giving instruction for a railway station to be built near her Essex home, in order to allow him to 'visit' her without drawing too much public attention ! After marrying the Lord Francis Greville, Count of Warwick, she continued to entertain the 'Malborough Set' through her lavish and extravagant parties at Warwick Castle, which almost led to her becoming bankrupt. Following the death of her former lover King Edward VII, in 1910, with mounting debts, she attempted to sell his love letters to the American media. The sale was halted when an English Industrialist offered £64,000 for them - which today would amount to over £6 million pounds - which staved off most of her debt.

There is so much more to tell of a remarkable woman who could lay claim, through her ancestors, to five different connections to King Charles II, was the cause of scandal in Victorian Society, one of the richest women in England, and in many ways, as unique as the White Peacock she kept in the Menagerie at Easton Park . . . .

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