Ladies group entertained with tales of royalty and old superstitions
Since Chase Terrace Ladies Group started meeting in the afternoon there has been an increase in those present. Last Thursday we had a talk from Judy - known as Jude - Hubble on the life of Patrick Lichfield. This is just one of the talks she does.
Jude had some old photographs of Patrick and his family. He was born in London and is related to the royal family as his mother Anne Bowes-Lyon was the younger sister of the Queen Mother. She explained that when he was young, he wore dresses as was the style of the time. This was related to an old superstition which said that the boys of the family would die and if the child wore a dress because the pixies would not be able to tell whether he was a boy or girl. He grew up in London and spent a lot of time with the Bowes-Lyon family.
His full name was Thomas Patrick John Anson. Patrick’s father was in the Grenadier Guards and often the children were left at Shugborough with their nanny. He went to Harrow and then Sandhurst and followed his father into the Guards. Unfortunately, Patrick’s father died before his became the 5th Earl of Lichfield and therefore rather than being the 6th Earl he became the 5th.
Following his career in the Guards he decided to become and photographer and as we know he took some excellent photographs of the Royal family and was a particular friend of Princess Margaret who spent a lot of time at Shugborough.
He married Lady Leonora Grosvenor in 1975, and they divorced in 1987. They had three children Thomas, Eloise and Rose. The latter was associated with Lady Annunziata Asquith. She would not marry him because she was divorced.
Patrick Lichfield died of a stroke aged 66. Shugborough is run by the National Trust.
Members were advised that the next meeting would be a table top sale.
Chase Terrace Ladies Group meet at 2pm every second and fourth Thursday at the Burntwood Memorial Institute and enjoy a varied calendar of events and outings throughout the year.
