George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West (14 November1874-1 April1951) was a British officer of the Scots Guards. He was the only son of Col. William Cornwallis-West (1835-1917) and his wife Mary, née FitzPatrick (1856-1920). He was noted for his marriage to the mother of Winston Churchill (who was almost exactly two weeks younger, being born on 30 November, 1874), Jennie Jerome. Jenny was greatly admired by King Edward VII, and during her marriage to her first husband, Lord Randolph Churchill, was Edward's mistress.
Personal life
- He and Lady Randolph Churchill were married on 28 July 1900. They separated in 1912 and divorced in April 1914.
- He took, on 6 April 1914, as his second wife, Beatrice (Stella) Tanner, better known as Mrs Patrick Campbell, the celebrated actress.
- His sister Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West, aka Daisy, Princess of Pless, was a noted society beauty and the first wife of HSH Hans Heinrich XV, Prince of Pless. His sister Constance Cornwallis-West became the first wife of Bendor, Duke of Westminster.
- In 1951 (after having been afflicted for many years with Parkinson's disease), he died by his own hand (suicide), leaving no children.
Further reading
- Peregrine Churchill and Julian Mitchell, Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill: A Portrait with Letters (London, 1974).
