Wife of one of Britain’s richest men, châtelaine of the Eaton Hall estate , and owner of 50 per cent of Mayfair. To be the Duchess of Westminster is to be one of the most privileged women on the planet. No doubt the thought crossed Olivia Henson ’s mind when she took on the title, after marrying Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, in spectacular fashion last year . But, as one of her predecessor’s found out, even life in the lap of luxury can be a gilded cage.

Loelia Ponsonby, who passed away 32 years ago on November 1, married the 2nd Duke of Westminster in 1930. The partnership was, as James Lees-Milne wrote, “a definition of unadulterated hell.” What a testament to the extraordinary life of Loelia Ponsonby, later Lady Lindsay, that she refused to be defined by her hatefu

See Full Page