Lilias Margaret Frances, Countess Bathurst (, 12 October 187130 December 1965) was a British newspaper publisher who owned ''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
.'' Her father,
Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk
Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk JP (27 December 1830 – 24 November 1908), known as Sir Algernon Borthwick, Bt, between 1887 and 1895, was a British journalist and Conservative politician. He was the owner of the ''Morning Post'' (which m ...
, owned the paper and passed control to her upon his death in 1908. She led the paper as the only female owner of a major newspaper in the world, reorienting it to focus on political and diplomatic affairs. Lady Bathurst herself was an
anti-feminist, supporting movements against women's suffrage.
The paper continued to be successful and respected under her ownership; it was considered an organ of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and contributed to the fall of
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...
and
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
from power. Under her ownership, the paper was also known for its far-right stance, which largely reflected her own views, including expressing opinions that were
anti-semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
,
imperialist
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
, and
militaristic
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
.
Lord Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
, one of Lady Bathurst's competitors and the owner of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
,'' wrote that she was "the most powerful woman in England, without exception other than royalty". She sold the paper in 1924 and lived in relative obscurity before dying in 1965 at the age of 94.
Personal life
Lilias Margaret Frances Borthwick was born in Eaton Place,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, on 12 October 1871 to
Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk
Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk JP (27 December 1830 – 24 November 1908), known as Sir Algernon Borthwick, Bt, between 1887 and 1895, was a British journalist and Conservative politician. He was the owner of the ''Morning Post'' (which m ...
, and Alice Beatrice, the daughter of
Thomas Henry Lister
Thomas Henry Lister (1800 – 5 June 1842) was an English novelist and biographer, and served as Registrar General in the British civil service. He was an early exponent of the silver fork novel as a genre and also presaged "futuristic" writing i ...
.
She married
Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst
Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, Territorial Decoration, TD, Justice of the peace, JP, Deputy lieutenant, DL (21 July 1864 – 21 September 1943) was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper o ...
on 15 November 1893. They had four children; three sons and a daughter.
She lived with her husband, a
lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the 4th Battalion,
Gloucestershire Regiment
The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...
, on
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
during the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
as he was in command of the garrison on the island. She wanted to purchase
Longwood House
Longwood House is a mansion in St. Helena and the final residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, during his exile on the island of Saint Helena, from 10 December 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821.
History
Longwood " ...
, where Napoleon had lived in exile, but never did.
When her father died, she inherited his house in
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
but sold it after several years and moved to
Bruton Street
Bruton Street is a street in London's Mayfair district.
It runs from Berkeley Square in the south-west to New Bond Street in the north-east, where it continues as Conduit Street.
Notable residents have included Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd ...
.
''The Morning Post''
The ''
Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
(DNB)'' wrote that Borthwick considered her main principles to be "loyalty to the crown, to the church, and to every cause which was honourable and right".''
'' Under her ownership, ''The Morning Post'' was
imperialist
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
,
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
,
militaristic
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
,
anti-semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, and opposed
Home Rule for Ireland
The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...
,
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
,
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
. The ''DNB'' concludes the paper was "in general die-hard". The paper served as the organ of the Conservative party
and was considered refined and aristocratic under her ownership.
In 2014 Harry Defries wrote that "The ''Morning Post'' represented the extreme right of Conservatism and its hostility towards Jews was extreme". The paper was described in ''
The Journal of British Studies
The publication of thNorth American Conference on British Studies ''The Journal of British Studies'' is an academic journal aimed at scholars of British culture from the Middle Ages through the present. The journal was co-founded in 1961 by Geor ...
'' as "the most important right-wing newspaper of the day".
Bathurst also felt women were not qualified to become voters, and was broadly anti-feminist. She supported and was a member of the
National Service League
The National Service League (NSL) was a British pressure group founded in February 1902 to campaign for the introduction of compulsory military training in Great Britain, in order to protect the country against invasion, particularly from Germany ...
.
Editorship of Fabian Ware (19051911)
Her father, Lord Glenesk, was the owner of ''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
.'' Glenesk replaced his father,
Peter Borthwick
Peter Borthwick (13 September 1804 – 18 December 1852) was a British Conservative Party politician and newspaper editor.
Early life
Peter Borthwick was born in Cairnbank, Borthwick, Midlothian, on 13 September 1804, the son of Thomas Borthw ...
, as editor of the paper in 1852, and he purchased it in 1876.
Under his ownership, the paper gradually shifted to advocate
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
policies and supported
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
.
He trained her brother Oliver Borthwick to take over the paper, but her brother died in 1905.''
'' Upon Oliver's death, Lady Bathurst became involved in the paper.
Earlier in 1905, before Lady Bathurst became the owner,
Fabian Ware
Major-General Sir Fabian Arthur Goulstone Ware (17 June 186928 April 1949) was a British educator, journalist, and the founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). He also served as D ...
was made editor of ''The Morning Post''. Shortly after beginning work, he came into conflict with Glenesk, who thought Ware should promote tariff reform less. Ware wrote asking Lady Bathurst to intervene and threatening to resign. When Glenesk died in November 1908, she became the owner of the paper. Although
Spenser Wilkinson
Henry Spenser Wilkinson (1 May 1853 in Hulme, Manchester – 31 January 1937 in Oxford) was the first Chichele Professor of Military History at Oxford University. While he was an English writer known primarily for his work on military subjects, he ...
, the paper's lead writer, attempted to turn her against Ware, Ware eventually became Lady Bathurst's favorite editor.
When Lady Bathurst took ownership of the newspaper, it was reported that she was the only female newspaper owner at the time in London,
and by some papers that she was the only woman in the world to own a major newspaper.
She focused ''The Morning Post'' on political and diplomatic affairs and was a dedicated
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
.
Borthwick played a large role in dictating the paper's policies. In 1922, it was written that "no line of importance is admitted to the columns without her 'O.K.
She was described in 1977 as having remained in "constant contact with its editor and with the latest political maneuvers and events."
The historian
Keith M. Wilson wrote in a history of ''The Morning Post'' that under her editorship the paper grew to "reflect her own character and outlook", noting that, in addition to being closely involved with editing, Lady Bathurst often contributed articles to the paper. However, she also sought to preserve the paper to be handed over to her children and was conservative in her management, unwilling to take risks.
![Lebaudy_airship_RAE-O426](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Lebaudy_airship_RAE-O426.jpg)
In response to the perceived military deficiency of the United Kingdom and Germany's successful test of a
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
, ''The Morning Post'' announced the creation of a National
Airship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
Fund on 21 June 1909. The aim of the fund was to raise £20,000 through
public subscription
Subscription refers to the process of investors signing up and committing to invest in a financial instrument, before the actual closing of the purchase. The term comes from the Latin word ''subscribere''.
Historical Praenumeration
An early form ...
to purchase the United Kingdom an airship. Lady Bathurst contributed the first £2,000 to the fund. In July, Ware travelled to Paris and commissioned
Lebaudy Frères to build the
Lebaudy Morning Post. In August, it was revealed that the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' had offered to pay for a hangar while an airship from
Clément-Bayard
Clément-Bayard, Bayard-Clément, was a French manufacturer of automobiles, aeroplanes and airships founded in 1903 by entrepreneur Gustave Adolphe Clément. Clément obtained consent from the Conseil d'Etat to change his name to that of his b ...
was shipped to England. Ware rushed to ensure the ''Morning Post''s airship arrived first, and by May 1910 he began helping plan the airship's route to England. However, on 16 October 1910, the
Clément-Bayard No.2, sponsored by ''The'' ''Daily Mail'', arrived in England. The
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
purchased the airship and the National Airship Fund was left out of negotiations. The airship commissioned by ''The'' ''Morning Post'' was damaged when it arrived in England ten days after the Clément-Bayard No.2, its hangar was too small, and it crashed on its first test flight. Ware was accused by H. Massac Buist and
L. J. Bathurst, the paper's manager and Lady Bathurst's brother-in-law, of
financial mismanagement
Financial mismanagement is management that, deliberately or not, is handled in a way that can be characterized as "wrong, bad, careless, inefficient or incompetent" and that will reflect negatively upon the financial standing of a business or indiv ...
and poorly managing the paper. After threatening to sue L. J. Bathurst over
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
, he was given £3,000 and agreed to retire. His retirement was announced on 14 June 1911.
Editorship of H. A. Gwynne (19111924)
![Portrait of Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Portrait_of_Alfred_Harmsworth%2C_1st_Viscount_Northcliffe.jpg)
Upon the recommendation of
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, Lady Bathurst appointed
H. A. Gwynne
Howell Arthur Keir Gwynne, CH (3 September 1865 – 29 June 1950) was a Welsh author, newspaper editor of the London ''Morning Post'' from 1911 to 1937. , Mee, Arthur. ''Who's Who in Wales''. Cardiff, Western Mail Limited (1921). (p.170)
Earl ...
editor of the paper in 1911.
She stayed informed about important matters of the paper and generally supported Gwynne.
Her father had been very successful running the paper; he developed a system to accept payment for coverage in social columns that was earning an estimated $500,000 per year for the paper by 1914. That year, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the Morning Post under his control as "a capably conducted newspaper in all respects, conservative in its methods, and retaining possibly more editorial influence than any other London newspaper". ''The New York Times'' considered that Lady Bathurst ran the paper "with a success equal to her fathers".
In May 1914
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
, the owner of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', reduced the price of his newspapers to one penny, beginning a 'newspaper war' with ''The Morning Post,
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
,'' and
''The Standard'', which all published at that price. It was thought that ''The Morning Post'' had the weakest hold on circulation, and would be targeted by Lord Northcliffe. He wrote that the ''Post'' was "a paper which has the unique distinction of voicing the views of a very gifted lady". The war began with advertisements published in the papers.
Borthwick refused to allow ''The Times'' to advertise their price reduction in ''The Morning Post''.
She continued to fight with Northcliffe for circulation for years.
Borthwick was briefly a nurse in France during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and helped various war charities.
Shortly after the war began, she temporarily stopped taking a salary from the paper while it was in dire financial straits. She also refused to fund increased coverage of the war through taking out a loan, considering the move too risky. In 1918 Gwynne and
Charles à Court Repington
Charles à Court Repington, , (29 January 1858 – 25 May 1925), known until 1903 as Charles à Court, was an English soldier, who went on to have a second career as an influential war correspondent during the First World War. He is also credited ...
, the
war correspondent for ''The Morning Post'' during the conflict, were fined $500 dollars each for publishing an article that criticised the
Lloyd George ministry
Liberal David Lloyd George formed a coalition government in the United Kingdom in December 1916, and was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V. It replaced the earlier wartime coalition under H. H. Asquith, which had ...
. Lady Bathurst supported Repington and Gwynne for publishing the story.
In 1920, she founded the British League of Help for the Devastated Areas of France and Belgium.
In July 1920, ''The Morning Post'' published ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'', a
fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
plan for global domination, with no comments. H. A. Gwynne had sent the document to Lady Bathurst before publication, and she had suggested collaborating with ''The Times'' in publishing them. However, Wilson suggests that Gwynne had deceived Lady Bathurst over the document's authenticity.
In a 1922 article,
''The Outlook'' called her "the world's greatest woman newspaper owner". Lord Northcliffe called her "the most powerful woman in England, without exception other than royalty". In 1922,
Lord Midleton was offended by a story he read in the newspaper. He accosted Lady Bathurst, and she refused to apologise. Midleton told her that if her husband had been the owner of the paper, he would have "called him out and shot him." The disagreement soon came up in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
, where the
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
,
Lord Birkenhead, sided against Bathurst. When
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
fell from power in late 1922, Hayden Church for the
McClure Newspaper Syndicate
McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marke ...
wrote that "with the exception of
Andrew Bonar Law
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
himself, and perhaps not even excepting the present Prime Minister, no single individual played a greater part in precipitating the crisis that drove David Lloyd George from office than did Lady Bathurst through her famous journal, the 'Morning Post'". She was also credited with helping decrease the power of
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...
through creating a 'Balfour Must Go' movement.
Sale of paper
Since the end of the war, the paper had not been financially performing as well as Lady Bathurst had hoped. Attempts at increasing its profitsand therefore her own incomewere unsuccessful. After August 1922, the paper's finances were continually
overdrawn, and Lady Bathurst herself was in increasingly poor financial condition. Coupled with a dramatic fall in circulation,
in December 1922 she decided to sell the paper, assigning her son
Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley
Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, TD, DL (3 August 1895 – 17 December 1942) was a British Army officer and Conservative Party politician.
Early life
Apsley was the eldest son of Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst and his wife ...
, to handle the negotiations. Negotiations with
Rupert E. Beckett of ''
The Yorkshire Post
''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...
'' began in 1923, but were unsuccessful. On 7 April 1924 the paper was sold to
Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland
Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, (17 April 1880 – 23 August 1930) was a British peer, army officer, and newspaper proprietor.
Military career
Percy was a second lieutenant of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion the Queen's (Royal West S ...
, and a consortium of prominent Conservatives for £500,000 (£ in ).
Later life and death
After selling the paper she lived in relative obscurity, helping her son politically. Allen Bathurst died in 1942 and Seymour Bathurst the following year. She died on 30 December 1965 at the age of 94 in
Chesterton, Gloucestershire.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
''The Rasp of War: The Letters of H. A. Gwynne to the Countess Bathurst, 1914-1918''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst, Lilias
1871 births
1965 deaths
British newspaper publishers (people)
British countesses
Daughters of barons