Sisters: Princess Daisy of Pless and Shelagh Duchess of Westminster - Barbara Borkowy

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Sisters: Princess Daisy of Pless and Shelagh Duchess of Westminster by Barbara Borkowy

The patriotic fever of the Boer war, the opulence of the Edwardian era, the immense changes wrought on the world by the Great War, the tension and the rise of fascism during the inter-war years leading to yet another brutal military conflict – the sisters witnessed and were affected by it all.

Despite their aristocratic roots and upbringing, from a very early age the two Cornwallis-West sisters – beautiful blonde Mary Theresa (“Daisy”) and pretty brunette Constance Edwina (“Shelagh”)– knew that they would need to marry money. Their notorious mother Patsy forced Daisy onto a German coal magnate, Prince Hans Heinrich XV Hochberg von Pless, and matched Shelagh with the Duke of Westminster. 

Both sisters lived in beautiful homes, where they lavishly entertained their Edwardian contemporaries, spent holidays on the French Riviera, traveled, hunted and mingled with royalty. Both gave birth to desirable heirs, yet their family lives were marked by the tragedy of death. They tried to satisfy their difficult husbands and for years they hankered for the elation of romance. In times of peace they devoted themselves to charitable work, using their talents in singing and acting. During the war, Daisy in Germany and Serbia and Shelagh in France, dedicated themselves unhesitatingly to the care of wounded soldiers.  Their later lives were not bed of roses; jewelry was oftentimes sold in order to survive.

Daisy’s situation was particularly bad. Her life-long ambition to improve British – German relations backfired. The rapidly deteriorating wealth of Prince of Pless brought her to the brink of pennilessness. Plagued by shameful family scandals and tormented by a mysterious illness, she died in a small apartment that was once assigned to her servants.

Shelagh fared better and finally found happiness. She died at the age of 93, when the world had already forgotten her.