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| Elizabeth Wise, 2025 @Robert Golden |
Elizabeth Wise, a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, died today at Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, Yorkshire at the age of 89. She lived in Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
Mrs. Wise was the youngest of three children of Lady May Cambridge (nee HSH Princess May of Teck) and Sir Henry Abel Smith, and the granddaughter of HRH Princess Alice of Albany and Alexander, Earl of Athlone (nee HSH Prince Alexander of Teck).
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| Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
According to historian Robert Golden, Elizabeth was an "attractive and headstrong young woman," who eschewed "society's convention. In 1956, she accompanied her parents to Australia, where her father was appointed as Governor-General of Queensland. While her parents concentrated on official duties, Elizabeth chose to travel around Australia. She enjoyed traveling so much that she failed to return to England for her brother Richard's wedding to Marcia Kendrew in 1960.
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| Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
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| Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
She was born on September 5, 1936, at Kensington Palace. This was duly noted in the Court Circular, as her mother, Lady May, was Queen Mary's niece. Lady May's mother, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and King George V were first cousins.
Her christening took place on September 29, 1936, at St. Mary Abbot's Church in Kensington, and her godparents were the Duchess of York, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, Madelaine Abel Smith Tabor, and Lord Frederick Cambridge (Major General the Earl of Athlone stood proxy). The infant's mother, Lady May Abel Smith, stood proxy for the Duchess of York.
The infant was given the names Elizabeth Alice, after the Duchess of York and her grandmother, Princess Alice.
During the Second World War, Elizabeth and her family lived in Ottawa, where her grandfather, the Earl of Athlone, was the Governor General of Canada. In December 1941, she was enrolled in the Joan of Arc pre-school, where, according to the Ottawa Journal, she led the band in playing "Jingle Bells. She was enrolled in the Joan of Arc School in Ottawa. Among her and her older sister Anne's playmates in Ottawa were Princess Beatrix and Irene of the Netherlands. The Dutch princesses, along with their mother, Princess Juliana, and younger sister, Margriet, who was born in Canada, spent most of the war in Canada.
She was also an active member of the Rockcliffe Brownie Pack in Ottawa.
In April 1943, Princess Alice was present when her granddaughter took part in the school program. According to the Ottawa Journal, Elizabeth was "enthusiastically applauded for her grasp of French in three recitations." The following year, Elizabeth attended the Elmwood School and was cast as a shepherd boy for the annual Christmas pageant.
Princess Alice was delighted to see her grandchildren acquiring "self-reliance natural to Canadian children. According to Princess Alice's biographer, Theo Aronson, Lord Athlone was "equally good" with his grandchildren, always trying to be present when one of his assistants, Tom Goff, was reading them a story.
In July 1945, it was announced that Elizabeth and her two older siblings, Richard and Anne, would be returning to England, accompanied by their grandmother's former secretary, Vera Grenfell.
Her family connections meant that she would be invited to royal events. In November 1947, Elizabeth, 11, joined her parents and other members of the Royal Family in the first procession to their seats in Westminster Abbey.
By the mid-1950s, Elizabeth's name often appeared in social pages, including Cowes Week.
As she grew into her teen years, there would be the ubiquitous bridesmaid appearances. In October 1955, she was one of the "older bridesmaids" at the wedding of Michael Colman and Judith Williams-Powlett. The following year, she served in the same role when Arthur Hill married the Hon. Juliet Weld-Forester. On December 14, 1957, Elizabeth was one of eight older bridesmaids at the marriage of her older sister, Anne, who married David Liddell-Grainger. The other bridesmaids included Princesses Beatrix and Irene of the Netherlands and Princess Christina of Sweden.
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| Sir Henry Abel Smith Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
In 1958, Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith was named as Governor of Queensland. He would be accompanied by his wife and younger daughter, and they left for Australia, sailing on the Himalaya, on February 15, 1958.
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| Elizabeth and Sebastia in Australia in 1959 (Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection) |
In August 1959, Princess Alexandra of Kent, who had been friends with Elizabeth since childhood, had an official trip to Australia. She wanted to get in touch with her cousin -- both were 22 at the time-- and meet up. She asked her Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Moyra Hamilton, to inquire about an address for Elizabeth, who was not staying with her parents at Brisbane House. The provided address was Miss Elizabeth Abel Smith, GPO Perth. It was understood that Alexandra's letter would be forwarded to Elizabeth, wherever she was.
According to the Sun Herald, the "blonde, petite and attractive" young woman had been "intriguing Queenslanders" since March 1958 when her father became Governor of Queensland.
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The staff at Governor's House had "ceased to be surprised" by her frequent absences and her decision not to return for Alexandra's visit.
One staff member told the press: "We believe Miss Elizabeth is on a station property in the west. We are taking it for granted that she will not be in Queensland for the Royal Tour. But we understand she is enjoying herself."
Elizabeth certainly celebrated her wanderlust and independent streak during her time in Australia. Shortly after her family settled into Government House, she was off on a trip that lasted three months. She had covered 4,000 miles of Queensland's outback with a new friend, Brisbane socialist Pam Stevenson. During this tour she also acquired a husky blue cattle dog, Sebastian.
After the tour was over, she stayed with Miss Stevenson at her home in Coorparoo, a suburb of Brisbane. In February 1959, she finally returned to Government House, albeit briefly, to see her grandmother, Princess Alice. After eight days, Elizabeth was off again on another trip.
She told a Brisbane acquaintance: "In London, it's an extremely common thing for young people to live away from home --in flats of their own."
In the fall of 1959, the Sun Herald reported that the "slight fair-haired" Elizabeth was on board the Monowai, heading to New Zealand. Her Morris Minor was stuffed with everything she needed for a "three-month walkabout."
Most of the 25,000 miles on the speedometer were beginning in September 1958, when she and a friend slipped out of Brisbane and headed west, where they spent six weeks working at a station in Wyandra, "helping to muster the sheep for shearing." Then it was off to Perth, where Elizabeth put an ad in a local newspaper: "Girl who rides and drives wants some sort of job in the country."
She received three responses, all for governesses, and accepted a position with the Patterson family, who lived in Yarraloola Station, 1300 miles north of Perth. Her new employers had no idea who she was until a few weeks later when she attended a cocktail party in Perth. Because of this job, Elizabeth could not return to Queensland to meet with Princess Alexandra.
The Pattersons had two daughters, Jeanette and Geraldine, who "adored" their governess, who, according to their mother, "had a wonderful way with children." At some point, the wanderlust returned, and it was time for another adventure, driving across the Nullabar Plain to Adelaide, and then to Melbourne, where she got a job in a flower shop. It was in Melbourne where she was finally able to catch up with her cousin, Princess Alexandra.
During a visit to Surfers Paradise, a beach on Queensland's Gold Coast, Elizabeth met Mr. and Mrs. Selmes, who lived in St. Ives. She mentioned she planned to visit Sydney, and the Selmes' invited her to stay with them.
She stayed for four days, "always dashing off for a look around in that little car of hers, " according to Joe Selmes, who spoke to the Sun Herald.
Although Sir Henry remained in his position until 1966, Elizabeth returned home in the early 1960s.
Elizabeth's engagement to Peter Wise (1929-2021), a shipping executive, was announced in early March 1965. He was the son of Captain Anthony Forster Wise and Eve Baillie.
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After receiving approval from Queen Elizabeth II (Royal Marriages Act), they were married on April 29, 1965, at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge. The Queen Mother (the bride's godmother) attended, as did Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, Princess Sybilla of Sweden, and Princess Margaretha and Mr. John Ambler. Princess Alexandra and the Hon, Angus Ogilvy were "present at the reception, which took place at St. James's Palace."
The bride was given away by her father. She wore a pale pink wild silk gown with a short train, and her tulle veil was held in place by a diamond tiara. Her bouquet featured pale pink roses. She had eight child bridal attendants: Ian and Charles Liddell-Grainger (her nephews), Nicholas Hill, Katherine Abel Smith (her niece), the Hon. Georgina and Hon. Fiona Baillie (the groom's nieces), Louise Huntington-Whiteley and Olivia Coleman.
Louise Huntington-Whiteley's mother, Countess Victoria Adelheid of Castell-Rüdenhausen, was Elizabeth's maternal first cousin. Ian Liddell-Grainger was the first descendant of Victoria to sit in the House of Commons.
In the spring of 1973, Elizabeth was delighted to discover she was pregnant. In Sherborne, Dorset, on September 2, 1973, she gave birth to a daughter, Emma Charlotte, a child she "greatly wanted."The birth seemed normal, but just over a week after the birth, doctors noticed a change. Emma caught an infection that caused "serious brain damage."
A specialist determined that the infant had "serious mental retardation with minimal responsiveness."
In June 1974, Elizabeth was "remanded in custody for a week" and charged with the murder of her nine-month-old daughter, Emma Charlotte Abel Wise, "between June 3 and June 6. At the hearing in Newbury on June 14, her lawyer, David Napley, argued that Elizabeth "broke" when she learned that her deaf and blind 10-month-old daughter would not survive.
He told the magistrates: "In these circumstances she administered something to the child."
The trial took place in October 1974 in Reading. Elizabeth pleaded guilty to manslaughter on "the grounds of diminished responsibility." Three-quarters of Emma Charlotte's brain had been destroyed by disease, and she "could not swallow and was fed by a tube through the nose."
At the time of Emma's death, Elizabeth was staying with a friend, Jennifer Cubitt, who on June 3 noticed that Elizabeth was "tearful, distressed, and extremely depressed." She also realized that Emma had been sleeping longer than usual. Elizabeth told her: I have given her some tablets. I wanted her to die peacefully, but she is not dying. What shall I do?"
The baby was brought into Battle Hospital in Reading, where she died three days later. Elizabeth told the doctors what she had given to the baby: "nine or 10 Mandrex tablets crushed in milk," which was given through the baby's feeding tube.
She later told the police: "I knew Emma had brain damage. There was not much hope for her. She was blind and practically deaf. I went back home, took a bottle of sleeping tablets from my friend's room, crushed them up and gave them to her."
A post-mortem examination showed that the "disease had destroyed three-quarters" of Emma's brain. The condition had no cure and could not be treated. The pathologist's report noted that encephalitis caused "major damage" to Emma's brain.
Elizabeth testified that on June 9: "I laid her on her face so she would not swallow her tongue. I wrapped her in a blanket so she would not get cold...My intention was that she would die quickly, peacefully, and painlessly."
She said she "used drugs crushed in milk" to end her child's life as Emma had "no hope of living."
Mrs.Cubitt testified in Elizabeth's defense. "I have never seen a maternal instinct so strong in any mother, and I have four children.
"The baby often gave terrible screams of distress."
The judge sentenced Elizabeth to twelve months' probation, stating: "The doctors are genuinely puzzled as to how this child lived so long. I have little doubt it was your devotion which kept her alive.
"I regard this as an extreme case even among exceptional cases. In my judgment you have suffered enough for the wrong, according to the law, you did."
After her trial, Elizabeth advocated for more help for mothers of disabled children. She gave an interview to the BBC radio program, This World This Weekend, where she discussed the viral infection that destroyed her daughter's brain.
She emphasized that this was not a sudden decision. "It was a happy relief. The only thing she [Emma] knew was pain. From her point of view, I feel what happened was for the best." Shortly after Emma's birth, a specialist told her that Emma "could never walk or talk. She might crawl by the time she was five, and her life span would be very short. I realized there was no hope. I felt there was no hope. I felt there was no future for her. Subconsciously, I probably thought her life was not worth living. It was not premeditated."
She also felt no guilt: "It is such a personal problem... I feel better off where she is. But I would never encourage anyone to do what I did."
In late October 1974, Elizabeth spoke to the Sunday People about her ordeal. After she had been charged with killing her daughter, she said she spoke to Queen Elizabeth, her third cousin.
"The Queen has been very kind, sympathetic and understanding. We are still good friends. She did not know anything about my daughter until after she died and my arrest was reported in the newspapers. But while I was on remand we talked at some length."
In this interview, Elizabeth talked at length about her daughter. "Emma was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me -- a beautiful ash-blonde baby with vivid blue eyes. She was the baby I had longed for and prayed for.
"She was perfectly normal until she was about nine days old. Then I noticed a change. First she went very sleepy. Then I could not waken her to feed her. In 24 hours she went into a deep coma....
"Physically she was perfect. Her eyes and ears were normal, but there was no brain to interpret the messages they sent, or to tell the limbs what to do.
"It was a travesty of life....
"Nature is no fool. Many animals in the wild kill their young if they are threatened. This does not mean I am in favor of mercy killing. I am strongly against it. Doctors fight nature, and they undoubtedly made a mistake with Emma. It was unfortunate that she was kept alive for so long.
"But she was my baby. I just wanted her to live as any mother would."
Elizabeth and Peter were separated when she gave birth to Emma, and they divorced in the following year. Afterward, she chose to "distance herself" from family events. Although her father, Sir Henry, came to the court when she was on trial, she found little support from her immediate family as they found her situation difficult to cope with. Her grandmother, Princess Alice, confided that she would have done the same thing, according to a source who knew Elizabeth well.
The Daily Telegraph reported on June 15, 1974, that Elizabeth and Peter had been "separated for the last five years."
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| HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone. Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
She was not a fan of her godmother, the Queen Mother, considering her a "dreadful gossip." In her final years, she lived "a quiet, rural life in Gloucestershire, Brecon," and most recently in North Yorkshire, where she enjoyed walking. She was close to her brother, Richard, and his wife, Marcia, and their daughter, Katharine.
She is survived by her sister, Anne Liddell-Grainger, and her nieces and nephews, Ian, Charles, Simon, Alice and Malcolm Liddell-Grainger and Katharine Beaumont.
Theo Aronon described Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone as "adventurous and independent-minded." The same could be said for her youngest granddaughter.
Victoria - Leopold - Alice - May - Elizabeth
George (Duke of Cambridge) - Mary Adelaide - Mary - George VI
George (Duke of Cambridge - Mary Adelaide - Alexander (Earl of Athlone) - May
Victoria and the Duke of Cambridge were first cousins
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