Viola Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster

Viola Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster (10 June 1912 – 3 May 1987), was the wife of The 5th Duke of Westminster.

Her Grace The Duchess of Westminster
Born	Viola Maud Lyttelton 10 June 1912
Died	3 May 1987 (aged 74) Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Residence	Eaton Hall, Cheshire Ely Lodge, Enniskillen
Spouse(s)	Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster ​ ​ (m. 1946; died 1979)​
Issue Lady Leonora Grosvenor The 6th Duke of Westminster Lady Jane Grosvenor
Parents	The 9th Viscount Cobham Violet Yolande Leonard

Born Viola Maud Lyttelton, she was the daughter of Sir John Cavendish Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham,[1] and Violet Yolande Leonard.[2]

She married Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, son of Captain Hugh William Grosvenor and Lady Mabel Florence Mary Crichton, on 3 December 1946.[3] The family had a home at Ely Lodge, just west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.[4]

As the Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton she gained the rank of Flying Officer in the service of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, during the Second World War, where she was mentioned in dispatches.[5]

Her marriage to the Duke of Westminster produced three children:

• Lady Leonora Mary Grosvenor (born 1 February 1949); formerly married to Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (3 children, including Thomas Anson, 6th Earl of Lichfield), has not remarried.
• Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (22 December 1951 – 9 August 2016)
• Lady Jane Meriel Grosvenor (born 8 February 1953); married firstly to Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe (3 children, including Charles Innes-Ker, 11th Duke of Roxburghe), and then to Edward William Dawnay, who is a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Westminster

From 1979 until her death in 1987 she was Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh.[6] She famously ordered workmen to drill holes in the ceiling of Florence Court, the stately home in County Fermanagh, to drain water away during a serious fire which almost destroyed it in 1955.[7]

The Duchess died in a car accident near Dungannon, County Tyrone, on 3 May 1987, aged 74.[8]

See also

• Lyttelton family

References

1. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage website". The Peerage.
2. "Descendents of William the Conqueror". William1.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
3. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage website, ibid". The Peerage.
4. Grosvenor estate Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
5. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage website, ibid". The Peerage.
6. "Girl Guide leaders site". Female Governors 1920-1990. Guide2womenleaders.com. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
7. "History of Florence Court, County Fermanagh". Ireland's Eye. Irelandseye.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
8. "2-Car Crash In Ulster Kills British Duchess, Pair In Other Auto". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio: Google News Archive Search. 4 May 1987. Retrieved 30 November 2013.