Frances Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (''née'' Charteris; 10 August 1915 – 19 February 1990), was a British noblewoman and socialite. She was variously Viscountess Long, Countess of Dudley and became Duchess of Marlborough upon her fourth marriage, to John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough. She was the sister of novelist Hugo Charteris and Ann Charteris (who married

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

), as well as the granddaughter of

Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL (25 August 1857 – 12 July 1937), styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a British Conservative politician. Early life He was the fifth but eldest surviving son of The 1 ...

. Her third husband, Michael Temple Canfield, was the former husband of

Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Radziwill (; March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady of the ...

, sister of First Lady

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

. During World War II, she served as an auxiliary nurse.

Early life

Frances Laura Charteris was born on 10 August 1915 at London, England, to Captain the Hon. Guy Lawrence Charteris (second son of the 11th

Earl of Wemyss Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scotland, Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss Castle, Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldo ...

and

Mary Constance Wyndham Mary Constance Charteris, Countess of Wemyss and March (''née'' Wyndham; 3 August 1862 – 29 April 1937), styled Lady Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was an English society hostess and an original member of The Souls, an exclusive social and intell ...

) and Frances Lucy Tennant, daughter of a Scottish chemical merchant. Laura, as she was called, had 3 siblings, Ann, Mary Rose and Hugo. Their mother died of cancer in 1925 and the remainder of their childhood was spent shuffling between homes in London and family in Scotland, where their grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Wemyss, lived. During World War II, she served as an auxiliary nurse for the Royal Navy."Lycett (2013)", p 101

Marriages

On 14 November 1933, at

St Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

, London, England, she married Walter Francis David Long, 2nd Viscount Long. He was the son of Brigadier-General Walter Long and Sibell Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone. During her marriage, she was the Viscountess Long. Laura's only child, was the product of this union: The couple divorced in 1942. * Antoinette Sara Frances Sibell Long (b. 1934), who married the Hon. Sir Charles Morrison, second son of John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale, in 1954. Laura then married William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, son of William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley and

Rachel Gurney Rachel Gurney (5 March 1920 – 24 November 2001) was an English actress. She began her career in the theatre towards the end of World War II and then expanded into television and film in the 1950s. She remained active, mostly in television a ...

, on 23 February 1943. She was known as the Countess of Dudley until she and Ward divorced in 1954. Dudley married thirdly to Grace Maria (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kolin) Radziwill (1923–2016), daughter of Dr. Michael Kolin and Anna Tironi of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Grace was the former wife of Prince Stanislaus Radziwill (The Prince's third wife, Lee Radziwiłł, was formerly married to Michael Temple Canfield, Laura's third husband). On 13 June 1960, Laura married Michael Temple Canfield, rumoured to have been the son of

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...

and American socialite Alice Gwynne Preston. Canfield was adopted as an infant by Cass Canfield, head of

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

Publishing house with his wife Katharine Emmet. Michael Canfield was the previous husband of Princess

, the younger sister of former First Lady

and sister-in-law of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. Her fourth and final husband was John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, whom she married six weeks before his death in 1972. From the time of this marriage, she became known as the Duchess of Marlborough. Laura died on 19 February 1990 at age 74 at Portman Towers, Marylebone, London, England.

Autobiography

In 1980, she published her autobiography, ''Laughter from a Cloud''. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980 ()

Titles

*1915 — 1933: Miss Frances Laura Charteris *1933 — 1942: ''

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

'' The Viscountess Long *1942 — 1943: Frances, Viscountess Long *1943 — 1954: ''The Right Honourable'' The Countess of Dudley *1954 — 1960: Frances, Countess of Dudley *1960 — 1971: Mrs Michael Temple Canfield *1972 — 1972: ''

Her Grace His Grace and Her Grace are English Style (manner of address), styles of address used with high-ranking personages, and was the style for English monarchs until Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547), and for Scottish monarchs until the Act of Union (1707), ...

'' The Duchess of Marlborough *1972 — 1977: ''Her Grace'' Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough *1977 — 1990: ''Her Grace'' The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer-Churchill, Laura 1915 births 1990 deaths British women autobiographers English socialites Laura 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers English autobiographers

Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

Laura