Daisy Princess of Pless

Daisy  

One of my favourite princesses of the Edwardian Era...

She was born Mary Theresa ("Daisy") Cornwallis-West (1873-1943). Her mother, Patsy, was an intimate friend of the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII.

"Thanks" to this social connection, Daisy married in 1891 (div. 1922) Hans Heinrich, 15th Prince and 3rd Duke of Pless, one of the wealthiest men in Germany. His properties are now part of Poland.

Her wedding was a very unhappy one. She had nothing in common with her older husband. They had three sons.

Because of being an English in a Germany more and more "à couteaux tirés" with her native country, and because she did not accept all the rules of the Berlin Society, she has been much criticized. When WWI broke out, she was even considered as a spy and her situation became increasingly worse, though the Kaiser always supported her (she had had the talent to be friends with both Edward VII and the Kaiser).

After the war, the economic situation of his husband deteriorated. After they divorced, she became poorer and poorer and ended her life quite miserably and alone, with a faithful and devoted female servant to help her.

She wrote one book : "Daisy Princess of Pless, By Herself". Further passages of her diaries and letters have been edited by Desmond Chapman-Huston : "What I Left Unsaid", "Better Left Unsaid".

There is a biography on her : "Daisy, Princess of Pless : A Discovery", by W. John Koch (2002). It is a good book, but the definitive biography has still not been written... Mr. Koch had previously written a book on her, in German : "Daisy von Pless, Fürstliche Rebellin" (1990).

Hi Thierry,

thanks for posting all the infos, i had wondered too who she was! Can you tell me, is there in her memoirs any material that deals with the Imperial Family?


Thanks,
Elisa

Hi Elisa,

OK, I will have a look, but please, give me some times  

Am I correct in thinking that it was rumoured that Daisy Pless was the mistress of Edward VII and/or Kaiser Wilhelm?  We know that she was a close friend of both of them which is surprising when you consider their mutual antipathy.

Am I correct in thinking that it was rumoured that Daisy Pless was the mistress of Edward VII and/or Kaiser Wilhelm?

Daisy was never involved with King Edward. However, Princess Daisy's mother Patsy is supposed to have been one of Edward VII's mistresses. Patsy was what was then known as a "professional beauty." It was rumored that three children (including Daisy) were born as a result of this affair. I'd take that particular claim with a grain of salt. Edward VII had numerous mistresses and this lead to many charges of this child or that being his illegitimate offspring. As far as I know none of these claims have ever been proven.

The three children that were attributed (in my opinion falsely) to the King were Daisy, Shelagh, who married the Duke of Westminster, and George who married Jennie Jerome Churchill, Winston Churchill's mother.

There was a wonderful book written about Patsy which contains some information about Daisy, "Patsy," by Tim Coates. It was published last year so it should be fairly easy to locate a copy.

Princess Daisy Pless was one of the best friends of Queen Marie of Romania.

I would like to learn more about this unhappy Princess....I know she was british nee,Mary Thereze Olivia Cornwal-West...born in   late 1800s..married the very stern Pince of Pless whose friendship with Kaiser Wilhelm ll  was so deep the Kaiser made  the Castle of Pless  in the border with Poland his HQ during the WWl...(Pless is in Poland now)the princess had a life of  luxury.. had  emperors and kings as guests in the Castle  but had an unhappy married life  if I'm not mistaken she wrot\e her memoirs...  she died in 1940s in  poverty (and very much as Victoria Moretta with an old servant taking care of her)  more information    GrandDuchessElla or anyone else ? nice pictures of the Princess of Pless at V&A  Images

You will find that Daisy wrote several volumes of diaries  - quite good .. there is also a biography of Daisy published in the last decade, as well as a biography of one of her sons. 

I would like to learn more about this unhappy Princess....I know she was british nee,Mary Thereze Olivia Cornwal-West...born in   late 1800s..married the very stern Pince of Pless whose friendship with Kaiser Wilhelm ll  was so deep the Kaiser made  the Castle of Pless  in the border with Poland his HQ during the WWl...(Pless is in Poland now)the princess had a life of  luxury.. had  emperors and kings as guests in the Castle  but had an unhappy married life  if I'm not mistaken she wrot\e her memoirs...  she died in 1940s in  poverty (and very much as Victoria Moretta with an old servant taking care of her)  more information    GrandDuchessElla or anyone else ? nice pictures of the Princess of Pless at V&A  Images

thank you Marlene     ..do you know the title   of the memoirs   books...there's a book by John Koch if I'm not mistaken.... he is from Poland  from some place close to Pless lives in Canada now

She was a noted society beauty...but also a very interesting woman!She came from a good, but impoverished family. I think that her brother, George, was the second husband of Jennie Jerome...another fascinating historical figure! After the divorce with Jennie, George made his second wife a celebrated actress at these times, Mrs Campbell. And her sister, Constance, nicknamed Shelagh, was the first wife of the duke of Westminster.

I know her portraits are not unknown, but I post my favourite picture of Daisy and my favourite portrait of Daisy





Best regards!

http://www.wjkochpublishing.com/daisyof.asp

thank you Marlene     ..do you know the title   of the memoirs   books...there's a book by John Koch if I'm not mistaken.... he is from Poland  from some place close to Pless lives in Canada now

She wrote:

Better Left Unsaid
From My Private Diary
What I Left Unsaid
By Herself

Here's John Singer Sargent's portrait of Daisy
http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Mugs/Daisy_Princess_of_Pless.htm

and a photo of Daisy in her nurses's uniform during WW1
http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/graphics/gws_princesshenry_01.jpg

It was Daisy's son Lexel who was engaged to Missy's daughter Ileana. The engagement was broken off due to the discovery (I guess by Missy) of Lexel's homosexuality.

She and her husband divorced in 1922. Her husband would remarry to Clotilde de Silva y Gonzalez de Candamo. They would divorce and Clotilde then married Daisy's youngest son, Bolko, and was the mother of their only grandchildren.

The Cornwallis-Wests were an interesting family. Daisy's brother George Cornwallis-West married firstly Jenny Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill, in 1900 (div 1914), and then married Beatrice Tanner aka Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the actress, in 1914. He committed suicide in 1951. Her sister, Constance, married Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, in 1901 (div 1919) and Fitzpatrick Lewes. Hugh Grosvenor would later marry Frederick Ponsonby's daughter Loelia.

Ufff...If I compare the pictures of Daisy and Shelagh, I don´t know who was the most beautiful woman...





Their sister-in-law, Beatrice Stella Tanner, was also a beauty:



A hard choice!

Thank you Yseult and Grandduhessella  for the pictures  information and kindness... I will look for the books Grandduchessella..I would like to see pictures of her husband and children..

Marie of Romania wanted to marry off her daughter Ileana to one of Daisy´s sons, right?