When I first became aware of Esmé Baring, Countess of Cromer, I was fairly young in age, with just the slightest tinge of the esoteric about me.
Randomly, I got an idea into my head that I would write to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to express my birthday wishes. I was delighted to receive a reply from Her Majesty’s lady-in-waiting, Esmé Cromer, who wrote:
‘The Queen wishes me to thank you so much for sending her your lovely card on the occasion of her birthday. Her majesty thought it was very kind of you to wish her to have this and I am to thank you again for remembering the Queen on her special birthday anniversary.’
I was in heaven! My first brush with royalty! Granted it was by proxy from an English noblewoman, but still it was a start. From 1967 to 1971, Esmé Baring, Countess of Cromer was a temporary lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and from 1971 to 1993 she ranked as an extra lady-in-waiting.
The Hon. Esmé Gabrielle Harmsworth; second daughter of Lieut. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 2nd Viscount Rothermere and his wife, Margaret Hunnum Redhead, was a member of the famous newspaper publishing family. Information I discovered upon leafing through the 1965 Burke’s Peerage at my local public library.
As often was my lot in those far off days in the plains of the Midwest , I was curious beyond all belief as to what this lady must be like in personality and appearance.
It was to be some years later before I would be more acquainted with her when I read; 1939 The Last Season Of Peace, by Angela Lambert. Taking part in the time old tradition of curtseying to the cake at the Queen Charlotte’s Ball that year, years late Esmé remembered the occasion vividly:
‘Queen Charlotte’s Ball was held in the great room of the Grosvenor House as was customary. The debs, all dressed in white, processed down the stairs, to curtsey to Lady Hamond-Graeme, affectionately know as, ‘Lady Ham n Eggs’ and the cake, then dispersing to their separate dinner tables to dine. Just after we were all seated, a sudden hush swept through the room. Mary Churchill rose to her feet and ran to greet her father with a hug; at the same time everyone stood, clapped and cheered: for it was the very evening Winston Churchill became Prime Minister.’
Due to the war, the debutante season in which Esmé partook was truncated of course, though, not, apparently, as much as had been expected.
‘Menus for dinners and dances were still no problem. Strawberries were plentiful as was champagne and smoked salmon; cream was still obtainable. Restaurants still produced excellent food, if possibly with less to choose from. By 1941 there was deterioration, much less on the menus, with her increasing shortages as war continued. There were come charity dinner dances in London and a few small country house dances as well, though nothing as large or as grand as in 1939. Nevertheless, we all wore our best ball dresses. The men, of course, looked far smarter in their ‘blues’ than they ever did in tails. ‘Blues’ was the evening dress for the Household Brigade. Others wore green, dark red or whatever, but they all looked splendid. There were also far more men available as partners, most being stationed in England
In describing the so called ‘phoney war’ or the ten months prior to anything untoward happening, the beautiful debutante remembered the strange atmosphere of those months:
‘The period from the outbreak of the war in September 1939, until Dunkirk in June 1940 was a time of quiet, a time when no one knew what to expect. Therefore, people were inclined to continue life much as had it been before. Of course, the young men were called up to join one of the armed services and to train for warfare. The young women were not called up so early: in my case, not until mid-1942. During the quiescent autumn of 1939 and the following winter some ex-debutantes were happily skiing in the Alps regardless. No bombing, of course, had take place in England and the Germans had not commenced their great advance through France
In reading; Debs at War: How Wartime Changed Their Lives 1939-1945, by Anne de Courcy, I found the book full of interesting stories of rich girls who swapped frocks for factory work in wartime, a feat, speak volumes about snobbery. Once again, I met the daughter of the wealthy Viscount Rothermere.
Esmé Harmsworth, while serving at the St John Ambulance headquarters, Oxford
Looking back, Esmé was nostalgic for her youthful Season: though it must have been a strange, double life she had lived, swinging between glamour and drudgery, party-going and danger, the soft lights of the dance floor and the searchlights in the skies:
‘We still wore long dresses on our evenings out, and sometimes just picked up our skirts and rain in our dancing shoes over broken glass to find a safer refuge like the underground ballroom at the Mayfair Hotel from the perils of the Mirabelle with its glass ceiling, while a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square and the scene was lit by seachlights. We were young and carefree and romance filled the air of all the dangers. There was no seeking greater security in a squalid London
During the war, she married Lieutenant-Colonel George Rowland Stanley Baring, later 3rd Earl of Cromer, KG, GCMG, MBE, PC, styled Viscount Errington before 1953. Her husband was a British banker and diplomat. After serving during World War II, he was Governor of the Bank of England (1961–1966) and British Ambassador to the United States
Although she had ‘good innings’ sadly she passed this past week. Sadly, with more and more ladies of the Queen’s generation slipping quietly away, we are losing a breed of grand dame the likes we will never see again!
Esmé,
The Dowager Countess Of Cromer, Dies
By David Wilkes
The Daily Mail
June 10, 2011
Esme, Dowager Countess of Cromer, has died peacefully in hospital at the age of 88 after a short illness.
A former Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen, artist and author, she was a co-chairman of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute, an international centre of excellence at the University of Oxford for the study of the United States.
Her father was the second Viscount Rothermere and she was an aunt of Jonathan Harmsworth, the fourth Viscount Rothermere and Chairman of The Daily Mail and General Trust, which publishes the Daily Mail.
Beauty: Esme Cromer, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1940, led an active life and was an accomplished artist, author and gardener.
Her first husband was the third Earl of Cromer, who was born into the Baring banking family. He was British Ambassador in Washington
He is renowned for having single-handedly saved the pound during a major run on Britain ’s reserves in the 1960s following the election of the Wilson
In her published memoirs, Lady Cromer recalled how her husband, known as Rowley, worked through the night dealing with the crisis, staving off disaster by arranging international loans of $3billion.
Young love: Lady Cromer, seen here on her wedding day to the third Earl of Cromer, revealed she walked barefoot down the aisle to avoid being taller than her husband.
They had three children and were married for 49 years until his death in 1991. At his funeral at the Guards Chapel at London’s Wellington Barracks, which was attended by more than 500 people, former foreign secretary Lord Carrington paid tribute to Lord Cromer as a man who had served his country ‘well, wisely and with much distinction’.
Her memoirs, entitled From This Day Forward, also revealed that when she married she took off her shoes and walked barefoot down the aisle rather than appear taller than her husband.
Lady Cromer married for the second time in 1993 to Gerrit van der Woude, who died six years later.
She took up painting in the 1970s when Lord Cromer was ambassador in Washington
Generous: Lady Cromer contributed to Oxford University
She was an accomplished gardener and chairman of the Orchid Society of Jersey.
She is survived by Evelyn, the fourth Earl of Cromer, and the Hon Vivian Baring, chairman of A&N International Media.
In recognition of significant contributions to Oxford University
A donation from family trusts helped pay for a library of American books and documents.
In a tribute to his aunt, the present Lord Rothermere said: ‘Esme’s passing ends an era for the Harmsworth family.
‘She has been a tremendous support to me personally since I succeeded my father as Chairman of DMGT. I shall miss her wise counsel as the family matriarch.’
A private funeral service will be held, followed by a memorial service in the autumn.
Motherly: The Countess seen here with her children Lady Lana Gray and Evelyn, Viscount Errington
NR
© 2011 The Esoteric Curiosa. All Rights Reserved
