Violet Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever

The Right Honourable
The Lady Astor of Hever
DStJ
The Right Honourable The Lady Astor of Hever DStJ
	Violet Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever
Born	Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound; 28 May 1889; London, England
Died	3 January 1965 (aged 75); Pégomas, near Grasse
Spouses	; Lord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (m. 1909; died 1914) ; John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (m. 1918)
Children	Mary Margaret Elizabeth Petty-Fitzmaurice; George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne; Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever; Hugh Waldorf Astor; John Astor
Parent(s)	Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto; Mary Caroline Grey
Relatives	See Astor family
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Violet Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever DStJ (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound; 28 May 1889 – 3 January 1965), styled Lady Charles Fitzmaurice between 1909 and 1914 and Lady Charles Mercer Nairne between 1914 and 1918, was an English aristocrat.

Origins

Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound was born on 28 May 1889, the third of the five children of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, Viceroy and Governor-General of India and Governor General of Canada,^[2] by his wife Mary Caroline Grey, a daughter of General Charles Grey, the second son of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.^[3]

Personal life

Lady Violet was twice-married. Her first marriage was on 20 January 1909, to Lord Charles Fitzmaurice (later Mercer Nairne), the younger son of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne by his wife Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton, a daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn by his wife Lady Louisa Jane Russell, a daughter of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford. By her first husband she had issue one son and one daughter:

Mary Margaret Elizabeth Mercer Nairne (1910–2003), who married Lt. Col. Ririd Myddleton and was granted the rank of a marquess's daughter in 1946.^[4]
George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne (1912–1997), who married four times and was the father of Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice, 9th Marquess of Lansdowne.

Lord Charles was killed in action on 30 October 1914 in World War I.^[5]

Second marriage

After the death of her first husband, she remarried on 28 August 1916 to John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (1886–1971), of Hever Castle in Kent and of Carlton House Terrace^[6] in Westminster, the youngest son of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor.^[7] He supported Neville Chamberlain^[8] and was elevated to the Peerage on 21 January 1956 as Baron Astor "of Hever".^[9] By Astor she had three sons:

Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1918–1984), who married Lady Irene Haig, the youngest daughter of Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, by whom he had five children including John Jacob Astor VIII ("Johnny" Astor).^[10]
Lt. Col. Hon. Hugh Waldorf Astor (1920–1999),^[11] who married Emily Lucy Kinloch, a niece of Diana Vreeland, and had five children.
Hon. John Astor (1923–1987), who married Diana Kathleen Drummond, a grand-niece of Herbert Samuel Holt, and had three children.^[12]

In 1962, she moved with her husband to France. Lady Astor died on 3 January 1965 at her villa in Pégomas, near Grasse^[13] in the South of France.

References

^ 1911 England Census
^ "Violet Mary (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), Lady Astor of Hever - National Portrait Gallery". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Minto, Earls of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.
^ "No. 37502". The London Gazette. 15 March 1946. p. 1387.
^ "Lord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (1874-1914) c. 1920". www.rct.uk. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ Harrison, Rosina (2011). Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor. Penguin. p. 48. ISBN 9781101565704. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
^ "NOW 'BARON ASTOR OF HEVER CASTLE'; American-Born Peer Announces His Title -- Beresford Remembers Early Exploit". The New York Times. 8 January 1916. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ Gottlieb, Julie V. (2016). 'Guilty Women', Foreign Policy, and Appeasement in Inter-War Britain. Springer. p. 103. ISBN 9781137316608. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
^ "No. 40692". The London Gazette. 24 January 1956. p. 499.
^ "LORD ASTOR, HEAD OF DYNASTY AND AIDE AT TIMES OF LONDON". The New York Times. 29 June 1984. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ "Paid Notice: Deaths ASTOR, HUGH WALDORF". The New York Times. 5 July 1999. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (6 April 1950). "DIANA K. DRUMMOND, JOHN ASTOR TO WED". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ "Lady Violet Astor Dies". The Age. 5 January 1965. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

External links

Violet Mary (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), Lady Astor of Hever

[1911census-1] 1911 England Census

[npg-2] "Violet Mary (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), Lady Astor of Hever - National Portrait Gallery". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

[EB1911-3] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Minto, Earls of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.

[4] "No. 37502". The London Gazette. 15 March 1946. p. 1387.

[rct-5] "Lord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (1874-1914) c. 1920". www.rct.uk. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[Harrison2011-6] Harrison, Rosina (2011). Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor. Penguin. p. 48. ISBN 9781101565704. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

[1916Baron-7] "NOW 'BARON ASTOR OF HEVER CASTLE'; American-Born Peer Announces His Title -- Beresford Remembers Early Exploit". The New York Times. 8 January 1916. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[Gottlieb2016-8] Gottlieb, Julie V. (2016). 'Guilty Women', Foreign Policy, and Appeasement in Inter-War Britain. Springer. p. 103. ISBN 9781137316608. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

[9] "No. 40692". The London Gazette. 24 January 1956. p. 499.

[1984Obit-10] "LORD ASTOR, HEAD OF DYNASTY AND AIDE AT TIMES OF LONDON". The New York Times. 29 June 1984. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[HWAObit1999-11] "Paid Notice: Deaths ASTOR, HUGH WALDORF". The New York Times. 5 July 1999. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[1950Engagement-12] TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (6 April 1950). "DIANA K. DRUMMOND, JOHN ASTOR TO WED". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[AgeObit1965-13] "Lady Violet Astor Dies". The Age. 5 January 1965. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

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The Right Honourable The Lady Astor of Hever DStJ
Violet Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever
Born	Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1889-05-28)28 May 1889 London, England^[1]
Died	3 January 1965(1965-01-03) (aged 75) Pégomas, near Grasse
Spouses	Lord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (m. 1909; died 1914) John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (m. 1918)
Children	Mary Margaret Elizabeth Petty-Fitzmaurice George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever Hugh Waldorf Astor John Astor
Parent(s)	Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto Mary Caroline Grey
Relatives	See Astor family