Penelope Aitken
Encyclopedia
Penelope Loader, Lady Aitken, MBE
(2 December 1910 – 7 February 2005), styled The Honorable Lady Aitken and nicknamed 'Pempe', was an English
socialite
.
, later 1st Baron Rugby, who was to become Governor-General of the Sudan
, Permanent Secretary of the Colonial Office
and wartime Ambassador to Dublin. Earlier, he had been the private secretary to the Viceroy of India and Governor of the North-West Frontier Province
, thus Penelope was born in Peshawar
and spent her early years in India
, where three of her siblings died in childhood.
When she was seven years old, she returned to England
for prep school
, then went on to Sherborne School for Girls
. Her parents had a house, Anmer Hall
, on the King's Sandringham
estate, which led to her socialising with the royal family. Indeed, she became the King's favourite. Maffey was presented at Court and named Debutante
of the Year. Strikingly beautiful, she was romantically linked with several men, including Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Esmond Harmsworth
and society artist Simon Elwes
(1902–1975), which caused a minor scandal as he was married and a Roman Catholic. Maintaining a platonic friendship, she accompanied Prince Bernhard on his honeymoon and became good friends with his new wife, Juliana
.
In 1938 she met Canadian
William Aitken, a nephew of media magnate Lord Beaverbrook
, and a journalist at the Evening Standard
. They were married later that year at St Peter's, Eaton Square
. Their son Jonathan
was born in Dublin in 1942 (Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
stood sponsor) and their daughter Maria
in 1945. William had joined the RAF
and Penelope joined the WRVS
, helping to evacuate German children to Ireland
. In 1944, her husband was badly hurt in a Spitfire
crash. She spent two years nursing him back to health, at a time when her baby son was ill with tuberculosis
and the family home in London was bombed.
Her husband was elected as Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Bury St Edmunds in 1950 and was knighted, making Penelope Lady Aitken. She devoted herself to community work in support of her husband's political career, becoming a magistrate
and running the Clothing Exchange, which played a major role in helping the victims of the East Coast floods in 1953
. Eventually she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE
).
She lived with the children in Halesworth
to be near her beloved father, who died in 1969 aged 91. The family fortune was wiped out by death duties and a stock market crash. She restarted her affair with Simon Elwes, and then had a long relationship with Sir John Davis
, chairman of Rank Xerox
. Gardening
was another passion. She created a famous garden at Playford
, her moated Tudor house near Ipswich
. Later she created an English garden at her house near Santa Eulalia on the Spanish island of Ibiza
, smuggling sacks of soil and rare plants through customs.
Lady Aitken continued to be seen at many parties and with many men. Satirist and broadcaster Noel Picarda instantly fell in love with her, and eventually became her live-in companion until his death in 2003. Her house and her parties were often the scene of political machinations in Conservative circles and she was often seen holding court among politicians or her family, whether in London, her local pub or the Gironde
.
She was survived by her children - Jonathan Aitken
and Maria Aitken
. She was the grandmother of the actor Jack Davenport
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(2 December 1910 – 7 February 2005), styled The Honorable Lady Aitken and nicknamed 'Pempe', was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
.
Biography
Born Penelope Loader Maffey, she was the daughter of Sir John MaffeyJohn Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby
John Loader Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby, GCMG, KCB, KCVO, CSI, CIE was a British civil servant.Maffey was the younger son of Thomas Maffey, a commercial traveller of Rugby, Warwickshire, and his wife Mary Penelope, daughter of John Loader...
, later 1st Baron Rugby, who was to become Governor-General of the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Permanent Secretary of the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
and wartime Ambassador to Dublin. Earlier, he had been the private secretary to the Viceroy of India and Governor of the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
, thus Penelope was born in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
and spent her early years in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where three of her siblings died in childhood.
When she was seven years old, she returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, then went on to Sherborne School for Girls
Sherborne School For Girls
Sherborne Girls is an independent day and boarding school for girls located in Sherborne, North Dorset. The school was founded in 1895 by Mr. and Mrs. Kenelm Wingfield Digby...
. Her parents had a house, Anmer Hall
Anmer Hall
Anmer Hall is situated in the Norfolk village of Anmer in England, about two miles east of The Queen's residence at Sandringham. Leased by the Duke and Duchess of Kent as their country house from 1972 until 1990, it has formed part of the Sandringham estate since 1898.It is a late-Georgian house,...
, on the King's Sandringham
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
estate, which led to her socialising with the royal family. Indeed, she became the King's favourite. Maffey was presented at Court and named Debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
of the Year. Strikingly beautiful, she was romantically linked with several men, including Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Esmond Harmsworth
Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere
Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere was a British Conservative politician and press magnate.Harmsworth's father, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, had been the financial wizard behind the creation of the Daily Mail in partnership with his brother Alfred Harmsworth,...
and society artist Simon Elwes
Simon Elwes
Lt. Col. Simon Edmund Vincent Paul Elwes, better known as Simon Elwes, RP, RA, KM was a British war artist and society portrait painter whose patrons included kings, queens, statesmen, sportsmen, prominent social figures and many members of Britain's Royal Family...
(1902–1975), which caused a minor scandal as he was married and a Roman Catholic. Maintaining a platonic friendship, she accompanied Prince Bernhard on his honeymoon and became good friends with his new wife, Juliana
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
.
In 1938 she met Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
William Aitken, a nephew of media magnate Lord Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
, and a journalist at the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
. They were married later that year at St Peter's, Eaton Square
Eaton Square
Eaton Square is a residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is one of the three garden squares built by the Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century, and is named after Eaton Hall, the Grosvenor country house in Cheshire...
. Their son Jonathan
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
was born in Dublin in 1942 (Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
stood sponsor) and their daughter Maria
Maria Aitken
Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken is an English actress, writer, producer and director.Aitken was born in Dublin, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and socialite Penelope Aitken, whose father was John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby. She is a great-niece of newspaper magnate and...
in 1945. William had joined the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and Penelope joined the WRVS
WRVS
The WRVS is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need throughout England, Scotland and Wales....
, helping to evacuate German children to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In 1944, her husband was badly hurt in a Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
crash. She spent two years nursing him back to health, at a time when her baby son was ill with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and the family home in London was bombed.
Her husband was elected as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Bury St Edmunds in 1950 and was knighted, making Penelope Lady Aitken. She devoted herself to community work in support of her husband's political career, becoming a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
and running the Clothing Exchange, which played a major role in helping the victims of the East Coast floods in 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
. Eventually she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
).
She lived with the children in Halesworth
Halesworth
Halesworth is a small market town in the northeastern corner of Suffolk, England. It is located south west of Lowestoft, and straddles the River Blyth, 9 miles upstream from Southwold. The town is served by Halesworth railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...
to be near her beloved father, who died in 1969 aged 91. The family fortune was wiped out by death duties and a stock market crash. She restarted her affair with Simon Elwes, and then had a long relationship with Sir John Davis
Sir John Davis
Sir John Davis was an English accountant and film executive.-Early life:John Davis was born in the City of London in 1906 and educated at the City of London School.-Career:...
, chairman of Rank Xerox
Rank Xerox
Rank Xerox was formed in 1956 as a joint venture between the Xerox Corporation of U.S. and the Rank Organisation of UK, to manufacture and market Xerox equipment initially in Europe and later in Africa and Asia...
. Gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
was another passion. She created a famous garden at Playford
Playford, Suffolk
Playford is a small village in Suffolk, England, on the outskirts of Ipswich. It has about 220 residents in 90 households. The River Fynn runs through the village, and many footpaths from Playford lead into the Fynn Valley. Villages nearby include Rushmere, Little Bealings, Great Bealings, Culpho...
, her moated Tudor house near Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
. Later she created an English garden at her house near Santa Eulalia on the Spanish island of Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, smuggling sacks of soil and rare plants through customs.
Lady Aitken continued to be seen at many parties and with many men. Satirist and broadcaster Noel Picarda instantly fell in love with her, and eventually became her live-in companion until his death in 2003. Her house and her parties were often the scene of political machinations in Conservative circles and she was often seen holding court among politicians or her family, whether in London, her local pub or the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
She was survived by her children - Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
and Maria Aitken
Maria Aitken
Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken is an English actress, writer, producer and director.Aitken was born in Dublin, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and socialite Penelope Aitken, whose father was John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby. She is a great-niece of newspaper magnate and...
. She was the grandmother of the actor Jack Davenport
Jack Davenport
Jack Davenport is an English actor, best known for his roles in the television series This Life, Coupling and as James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He has also appeared in many other Hollywood films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley...
.