George Cornwallis-West

George Cornwallis-West.

George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West (14 November 1874 – 1 April 1951) was a British officer of the Scots Guards. He was the only son of Col. William Cornwallis-West (1835–1917) and his wife Mary, née FitzPatrick (1856–1920). The family moved in aristocratic circles but did not have a great deal of wealth. George Cornwallis-West was noted primarily for his glamorous marriages, the first to Jennie Jerome, mother of Winston Churchill, and the second to the renowned actress Stella Campbell, who was also known on the stage as Mrs. Patrick Campbell. George Bernard Shaw wrote the part of Eliza Doolittle in his play Pygmalion for Stella Campbell.

Personal life

Capt. Cornwallis-West and Lady Randolph Churchill were married on 28 July 1900, much to the dismay of her sons Winston and John, who were nearly the same age as their stepfather. In fact, Winston was only 16 days his junior. Jennie Churchill and Cornwallis-West separated in 1912 and divorced in April 1914, but continued to meet socially upon occasion. After their divorce, she returned to her former name : Lady Randolph Churchill. On 6 April 1914, Cornwallis-West married Stella Campbell.

Cornwallis-West's sister, née Mary Theresa Cornwallis-West, was a noted society beauty. Known as Daisy, Princess of Pless, she was the first wife of Hans Heinrich XV, Prince of Pless. Another Cornwallis-West sister, Constance, became the first wife of Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster.

In 1951, after having been afflicted for many years with Parkinson's disease, Cornwallis-West died by his own hand, leaving no legitimate children.