Heiresses, Tiaras, and Gilded Secrets

From Fancy Dress Balls to Family Tragedy: Following the Threads of Two Remarkable Women

A few nights ago, I had the rare honour of being invited to a private evening at Polesden Lacey, the National Trust property tucked into the rolling Surrey hills. A small group of us were welcomed after hours by the curators of Polesden and other Trust properties. Most of the women gathered there have made it their life’s work to preserve the legacies of female collectors.

I, in one sense, was the outlier.

I don’t work for the Trust. But I was there on behalf of Mapperton and of Alberta, our American heiress turned Countess of Sandwich, whose own legacy - found in over ten thousand letters, journals, and diaries - forms one of the most extraordinary first-person records of an American marrying into British aristocratic life that I have ever encountered.

We were all there to see another extraordinary woman’s story: the private collection and legacy of Margaret Greville.

Margaret Greville: Heiress, Hostess… and Something More

Margaret Greville wasn’t born into high society, but she certainly mastered it. Born Margaret Helen Anderson in London on 20 December 1863, her birth certificate lists her parents as Helen Anderson and William Murray Anderson. But the real story is more complicated - and frankly, more fascinating.

Her biological father was in fact William McEwan, the Scottish brewing magnate. At the time, William Murray Anderson was a mere employee at McEwan’s brewery in Edinburgh. To protect Helen’s reputation and provide the child with legitimacy, it’s believed that McEwan arranged for Helen and Anderson to travel to London to register Margaret’s birth - conveniently sharing a surname so no one would question it.

Years later, when Margaret was 21, McEwan married Helen. By that time, he was a powerful businessman and respected Liberal MP. The family had moved to Mayfair, and although he was always referred to as Margaret’s “stepfather,” McEwan was the man behind the fortune that would shape her future.

In 1891, Margaret married Captain Ronald “Ronnie” Greville, heir to a barony and member of the Marlborough House Set (otherwise known as THE inner social circle around the future Edward VII). It was a match of mutual advantage. Ronnie brought her access to aristocratic circles, while Margaret - via her father’s wealth - brought the means to make an impression.

In 1906, Ronnie and Margaret purchased Polesden Lacey as a weekend retreat. They commissioned the celebrated architects Mewès and Davis - best known for their work on The Ritz - to remodel the house into a setting fit for high society.

Sadly, Ronald died just two years after moving in, leaving Margaret a widow at 44. But she did not retreat from society. Quite the opposite. Over the next three decades, Polesden Lacey became the epicentre of her social life - and one of the most glamorous homes in Edwardian Britain. From Queen Mary and Edward VII to the future George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (who honeymooned there in 1923), her guest list reads like a roll call of the British establishment.

And it wasn’t just about the guests - it was about everything. Fabergé eggs, portrait miniatures, gilded French furniture, Chinese ceramics, sparkling chandeliers, exquisite jewellery - you name it, she had it. Every room told a story, and I couldn’t stop looking.

Polesdon Lacey: Saloon

Polsedon Lacey: Long Gallery

Her legacy didn’t stop at Polesden Lacey. In 1942, just before her death, Margaret made one final, glittering contribution to the British royal family: the Greville Tiara. Designed by Boucheron in 1921, the tiara was left to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) as part of an extraordinary bequest of jewellery. The tiara has since become one of the most iconic pieces in the royal collection - famously worn by Queen Camilla today.

Image credit: Samir Hussein

A Dress, A Photograph, A Mystery

Yes, Polesden Lacey is filled with treasures everywhere you look… but I must admit, my obsession with House of Worth gowns got the better of me!

Because what truly stopped me in my tracks that evening wasn’t the glittering collection or the endless curatorial insights (as dazzling as they were!). It was the discovery that Margaret Greville attended the 1897 Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball.