Mansfield Markham (13 December 1905 – 1971) was the second son of Sir Arthur Markham, and his wife, Lady Lucy Markham.,[1] and became a British film producer and director.
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In 1927 he married the aviator Beryl Markham, becoming her second husband,[2] and they had a son, Gervase.[1] However after the birth of their child she shocked their high society contemporaries by embarking on an affair with Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the son of Queen Mary.[1] Markham, in the process threatening to name the prince in the proceedings, and so the queen stepped in to grant Beryl a small annual income. After Beryl's successful Atlantic crossing Markham filed for divorce as Beryl embarked on the next affair with Hubert Broad, who was named in the divorce proceedings. She eventually returned to Africa to pick up the pieces of her life, their son was brought up by Markham's mother Lady Lucy Markham.[1]
Markham went into the movie business, and directed eight films in the early 1930s,[1] including 1933's The Return of Raffles.[3]
After his mother's death in 1960, Markham took control of Commodore Shipping, a business which began life in the late 1940s as an excursion operator in the South East of England using former Royal Navy vessels.[1]