Beatrix Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans

Beatrix Frances Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, Marchioness of Waterford, GBE, DGStJ (25 March 1877 – 5 August 1953), born Lady Beatrix Frances Fitzmaurice, was a member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy, both by birth and through her two marriages.

Her Grace The Duchess of St Albans
Holding her eldest child, Lady Blanche Beresford
Born	Lady Beatrix Frances Fitzmaurice 25 March 1877
Died	5 August 1953(1953-08-05) (aged 76)
Nationality	British
Other names	The Marchioness of Waterford Lady Osborne Beauclerk
Spouses	Henry Beresford, 6th Marquess of Waterford ​ ​ (m. 1897; died 1911)​ Osborne Beauclerk, 12th Duke of St Albans ​ ​ (m. 1918)​
Children	6
Parent(s)	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Lady Maud Hamilton

Early life

Beatrix was a daughter of the 5th Marquess of Lansdowne and his wife Maud.^[1]

She was named after her maternal aunt, Beatrix Frances Lambton, Countess of Durham (born Lady Beatrix Frances Hamilton), Lady Lansdowne's favourite sister.^{[citation needed]}

Marriages and issue

On 16 October 1897, she married Henry Beresford, 6th Marquess of Waterford (and was styled as Marchioness of Waterford).^[1] Their wedding was a high society affair, noted in contemporary magazines.^[2]

The couple had six children:

• Lady Blanche Maud Beresford (1898–1940), who married Richard Girouard and had issue;
• Lady Katharine Nora (1899–1991), who married her first cousin, Sir David Dawnay, and had issue;
• John Charles de La Poer Beresford, 7th Marquess of Waterford (1901–1934), and had issue;
• Lady Beatrix Patricia (1902–1970), who married Lynden Miller and had issue;
• Lord William Beresford (1905–1973), who married Rachel Page and had issue;
• Lord Hugh Beresford (1908–1941), who died unmarried while on active service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

The Marquess died in 1911, and on 19 August 1918, Beatrix remarried, her second husband being Osborne Beauclerk, 12th Duke of St Albans, familiarly known as "Obby", and they set up home at the family's property at Newtown Anner House in Clonmel, County Tipperary.^[3] Through this marriage, she became Lady Osborne Beauclerk, but was better known as Beatrix Beauclerk. She became the Duchess of St. Albans when her husband succeeded to the ducal title in 1934.^[1]

Honours

She was appointed to the Orders of the British Empire (Knight Grand Cross (G.B.E.), 1919) and the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (Dame of Grace, D.G.St.J.)^[4] These honours were given in recognition of her work as a hospital administrator during the First World War.^[5]

Death

She died of heart disease; her husband's reaction to her death was greater than friends of the couple had anticipated.^[6]