Margaret Irby Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Countess of Kimberley
Birthname:Frances Margaret Irby
Birth Date:1 December 1884
Occupation:Socialite
Children:Maj. Morgan George Crofton
John Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley
Parents:Howard Irby
Mary Brandling

Frances Margaret Wodehouse, Countess of Kimberley (1 December 1884 – 4 January 1950) was an English socialite and member of the Bright Young Things.[1] She married three times, always with members of the British aristocracy.[2] She scandalized society when she went to live with her future second husband without waiting for her divorce to be effective.

Biography

Frances Margaret Irby was the only daughter of Lt.-Col. Leonard Howard Loyd Irby and Mary Brandling.[3]

Since her presentation at court on 1 June 1906, presented by Lady de Blaquiere,[4] Irby, according to the journals of the time, showed to be somewhat wild. She married three times.

On 12 December 1905, Frances Margaret Irby married Sir Morgan George Crofton, 6th Baronet (1879–1958), son of Capt. Edward Hugh Crofton and Isabel Annie Julia Miller; they divorced on 8 April 1910. They had one son, Major Morgan George Crofton (1907–1947). Irby left Crofton for James Montagu without waiting for the divorce, creating a huge scandal, since she went to live with Montagu.

On 22 October 1910 she married James Fountayne Montagu (1887–1971) of Papplewick Hall, son of James Wilson Montagu and Laura Adeline Thellusson; they divorced 1921.

On 5 May 1922 she married John Wodehouse, 3rd Earl of Kimberley, son of John Wodehouse, 2nd Earl of Kimberley and Isabel Geraldine Stracey.[5] When they married, reporters asked the question "Can Lord Wodehouse's Love Tame His Lively Bride?"[6] They had one son, John Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley (1924–2002).

Lady Kimberley died on 4 January 1950.

Notes and References

  1. Eminent Victorian . The Guardian. 23 May 1928. 19. 16 January 2018.
  2. Book: Vanderbilt. Gloria Morgan. Furness. Thelma. Double Exposure: A Twin Autobiography. 2017. Pickle Partners Publishing. 197. 9781787204393. 16 January 2018.
  3. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
  4. Web site: Court Dress. The Lafayette Negative Archive. 16 January 2018.
  5. New York Times 6 May 1922 "LORD WODEHOUSE WEDS MRS. FRANCES MONTAGU; Bride of Polo Player and ex-Member of Parliament Had Been Married Twice Before" Page 7
  6. Can Lord Wodehouse's Love Tame His Lively Bride? - 16 Jul 1922, Sun • Page 21. The Ogden Standard-Examiner. 1922. 21. 16 January 2018.