Lady Violet Benson Explained

Lady Violet Catherine Benson (née Manners; 24 April 1888 – 23 December 1971) was an English aristocrat, artist and socialite.

Lady Violet was considered a beauty and was the subject of drawings by George Frederic Watts and John Singer Sargent, the latter exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1916. She attended the Slade School of Fine Art.

Family and early life

Violet Catherine 'Letty' Manners was born on 24 April 1888 to Henry Manners, then Marquess of Granby, later 8th Duke of Rutland, and his wife, Violet, an aristocrat and artist. She was the fourth of the five children they raised together. Due to her mother's alleged affair with Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton, Violet was rumored to be fathered by Rowton.

Lady Violet's mother was a member of The Souls. Lady Violet's first marriage was one of at least seven unions between children of Souls' families. Her brother John was an art expert who became the 9th Duke of Rutland, and her sister Diana was an actor, author, and socialite.

First marriage and issue

She married Hugo Francis Charteris (from 1914 Lord Elcho), the son of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and Mary Constance Wyndham on 1 February 1911. The wedding was held at St Margaret's Westminster, reported in The Times, and the reception at 10 Arlington St, London.

The couple had two children:

• Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss, (19 Jan 1912 – 12 Dec 2008).
• Lt.-Col. Martin Michael Charles Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield, (7 Sep 1913 – died 23 Dec 1999). Martin Charteris was Private Secretary to Princess Elizabeth 1950–52, Assistant Private Secretary to the Sovereign (1952–72) and Private Secretary to the Sovereign (1972–77).

Hugo held a commission in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, and served in the First World War, with the rank of captain. He was killed at the Battle of Katia^[1] near the Suez Canal in Egypt on 23 April 1916 and is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial, and, with his brother Yvo, on the village war memorial at Stanway.

Second marriage and issue

She married Guy Holford Benson, son of Robert Henry 'Robin' Benson, on 9 July 1921.

The couple had three children:

• Nicholas Robin Benson (2 May 1922 – 10 Jul 1990).
• Giles Barnaby Benson (18 Dec 1923 – 30 Jul 1972).
• Jeremy Henry Benson OBE (25 Jun 1925 – 1 Dec 1999). Jeremy Benson was inspired by his mother's experiences growing up while Haddon Hall was undergoing restoration. He became an architect and conservationist, he restored many historic houses, successfully lobbied for heritage taxation exemptions in the 1970s, and played a role in the creation of English Heritage and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Guy Benson was a partner in Robin Benson & co, and a Director of London Assurance (1927-60).

Death

Violet Benson died on 23 December 1971 and is buried in the churchyard at Stanway, Gloucestershire, with her second husband (who died four years later), next to her second son, Martin. The church is adjacent to the Charteris residence in England, Stanway House.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Captain H F Charteris Lord Elcho and Second Lieutenant I A Charteris . Imperial War Museums . 4 February 2021 . en.