Partner
Katherine Beaven
Queer Places:
21 Wilton Crescent, London, England
St. Michael Churchyard
Lowther, Eden District, Cumbria, England
Verena
Maud Lowther (April 6, 1865 - December 25, 1938) married Major Victor Albert
Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill.
Katherine Beaven remarried in 1916 to Major Victor Alexander (Peter)
Spencer, later 2nd Viscount Churchill, Verena Maud Lowther's son. Peter was
bisexual and theirs was a marriage of convenience, made under pressure from
Peter's mother. When Lady Verena wished to divorce Lord Churchill, King Edward
forbade it, to avoid a scandal among his social circle. Instead she
disappeared in 1909 taking their son, aged 19, and two daughters, aged 13 and
8, with her. Later she began a lesbian relationship with Katherine Beaven.
Lord Churchill placed an anonymous advertisement seeking information about his
family's whereabouts, but the scandal soon became public.
Her estranged husband began spreading this scandal in
society. By 1916 Verena was desperate for a way to stop the gossip. She hit
upon the idea of coercing her bisexual son to marry Katherine, 19 years older
than Peter, to which he agreed, enabling Verena and Katherine to live together
without scandal. After the war, Peter remained in a military post in Paris and
his mother suggested the three live together for her convenience. Peter
refused and she cut him off, never speaking to him again. In 1927 the 1st
Viscount Churchill obtained a divorce on the grounds of desertion.
Lady Verena Maud Lowther was born on April 6, 1865, at 21 Wilton Crescent, London, England. She was the daughter of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale and Emily Susan Caulfeild. She married Major Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill, son of Francis George Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill of Whichwood and Lady Jane Conyngham, on 1 January 1887 at Cottesmore, Rutland, England. She and Major Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill were divorced in 1927 at Scotland.
She was appointed Lady, Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (V.A.)
Children of Lady Verena Maud Lowther and Major Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill:
-
Hon. Victor Almeric Lancelot Spencer b. 18 Jan 1888, d. 18 Jan 1888
-
Major Victor Alexander Spencer, 2nd Viscount Churchill b. 2 Aug 1890, d. 21 Dec 1973
-
Hon. Victoria Ivy Louise Spencer b. 15 Oct 1897, d. 19 Nov 1946
-
Hon. Ursula Spencer b. 21 Jun 1901, d. 1 Jun 1934
Verena Maud Lowther died on 25 December 1938 at age 73.
My published books:
BACK TO HOME PAGE
