Daisy, Princess of Pless (Mary Theresa Olivia; ''née'' Cornwallis-West; 28 June 1873 – 29 June 1943) was a noted society beauty in the

Edwardian period The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

, and during her marriage a member of one of the wealthiest European noble families. Daisy and her husband Prince Hans Heinrich XV were the owners of large estates and coal mines in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

(now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) which brought the Hochbergs enormous fortune.

Early life

Born Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West at

Ruthin Castle Ruthin Castle ( cy, Castell Rhuthun) is a medieval castle fortification in Wales, near the town of Ruthin in the Vale of Clwyd. It was constructed during the late 13th century by Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the brother of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, she was the daughter of Col. William Cornwallis-West (1835–1917) and his wife, Mary "Patsy" FitzPatrick (1856–1920). Her father was a

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

great-grandson of

John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr John West, 2nd Earl De La Warr (9 May 1729 – 22 November 1777) was a British peer, politician and army officer. Early life Born The Honourable John West, he was the son of John West, 7th Baron De La Warr and his first wife, the former Lady Cha ...

. Her mother was a daughter of Reverend Frederick FitzPatrick, a descendant of

Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory Barnaby Fitzpatrick (born ga, Brían Mac Giolla Phádraig) (c.1478–1575) was the last person to have claim to the kingship of Osraige; forfeiting his ancestral title in favour of being created the first Lord Baron Upper Ossory by King Henry ...

(and thus the

Kings of Osraige The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...

) and Lady Olivia Taylour, daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Headfort. Her sister Constance was also a famous beauty and wife of one of the richest men of the world,

Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, (familiarly " Bendor"; 19 March 1879 – 19 July 1953) was a British landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the world. He was the son of Victor Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, son of the ...

and their brother George Cornwallis-West was the second husband of

Lady Randolph Churchill Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Early ...

, mother of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Marriage

Daisy married

Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg ( pl, Jan Henryk XV; 23 April 1861 – 31 January 1938) was Prince of Pless (Pszczyna), Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein ( Książ). He was the husband (1891–1923) of Mary Theresa Olivia Hochberg von P ...

at St. Margaret's in Westminster on 8 December 1891. However, as the Cornwallis-West family was impoverished, the Hochbergs were obliged to pay and organise the wedding. Notable witnesses were Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and his wife

Princess Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

During her marriage, Daisy, known in German as the ''Fürstin von Pless'', became a social reformer and militated for peace with her friends

William II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Emp ...

and King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. During

World War I 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 ...

she served as a nurse.

Diaries

After her divorce at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

on 12 December 1922 she published a series of memoirs that were widely read in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and, in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

, in Continental Europe. The Private Diaries of Princess Daisy of Pless – 1873–1914'', edited by Major Desmond Chapman-Huston, were first published in London by John Murray in 1931. This was the second selection from her diaries and, according to his introduction were from a series of diaries totalling 600,000 words. The diaries describe the Princess's life as a member of the European aristocracy. There are a number of descriptions of significant pre-war political and social figures. These descriptions are not always discreet. The ambassador Metternich is described as dull and looking older than his age. In an entry dated 19 July 1905 she described a journey to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on a Hamburg America liner. She complained about the accommodations which were not to her liking, and that the ship was 'crammed full of awful American-German Jews'.

Personal life and family

On 8 December 1891, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, she married Hans Heinrich XV, 3th Prince of Pless, Count of Hochberg, Baron of Fürstenstein (1861–1938), one of the wealthiest heirs in the German Empire, becoming châtelaine of Fürstenstein Castle and Pless Castle in

. The couple had four children: * Daughter (25 February 1893 – 11 March 1893). * Hans Heinrich XVII William Albert Edward (2 February 1900 – 26 January 1984), 4th Prince of Pless, Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein. Married twice but had no issue. * Alexander Frederick William George Conrad Ernest Maximilian (1 February 1905 – 22 February 1984), 5th Prince of Pless, Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein. Unmarried and childless. * Bolko Conrad Frederick (23 September 1910 – 22 June 1936), who later caused a scandal by marrying his stepmother Clotilde de Silva y Gonzáles de Candamo (19 July 1898 – 12 December 1978), daughter of the 10th Marquis de Arcicóllar (and Hans Heinrich XV's second wife). Father of Bolko, 6th Prince. Hans Heinrich married as his second wife, at London on 25 January 1925, Clotilde de Silva y González de Candamo (1898–1978), daughter of José de Silva y Borchgrave d'Altena, Marquis de Arcicollar. This marriage produced two children, and was annulled in 1934. Subsequently, Clotilde married her stepson, Bolko, and was the mother of Daisy's and Hans Heinrich's only grandchildren. Daisy's brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

in 1900 married

Jennie Churchill Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Earl ...

, the mother of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, as his first wife, and after their divorce married in 1914 Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the actress, as his second. Her sister, Constance, married in 1901

, and after their divorce she married in 1920 James FitzPatrick Lewes. A photograph of the Princess with her children appeared in an issue of the British magazine ' Country Life'' in 1910. The Princess of Pless was a Dame of the Order of Theresa of Bavaria and of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

of Spain, and was awarded the German Red Cross Decoration.PLESS, HSH Daisy; Princess of (Mary Theresa Olivia)
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, Retrieved 21 December 2011

Death

Daisy, Princess of Pless, died in 1943 in relative poverty at Waldenburg,

(now

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of Wa ...

, Poland).

Ancestry

Notes

;Citations ;Sources * * * * republished 1950 *

External links

Exhibition photographs: Daisy of Pless: The Happy Years

Castle Pless
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daisy, Princess of Pless 1873 births 1943 deaths British socialites Female wartime nurses German socialites German people of English descent German people of Welsh descent People from Pszczyna People from Ruthin People from Wałbrzych Princesses by marriage Silesian nobility Welsh memoirists Female nurses in World War I FitzPatrick dynasty