Lady Alexandra Naldera Metcalfe,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(née Curzon; 20 March 1904 – 7 August 1995) was the third daughter of

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

and Viceroy of India, and Lord Curzon's first wife, the American mercantile heiress, Mary Victoria Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston (née Leiter). She was named after her godmother,

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of Kin ...

and her place of conception, Naldehra, India. She and her two older sisters were the subjects of a biography by

Anne de Courcy Anne Grey de Courcy ( Barrett; born 1927) is an English biographer and journalist, including as women's editor on the ''London Evening News'', as a columnist for the '' London Evening Standard'' and as a feature writer for the ''Daily Mail''. ...

in ''The Viceroy's Daughters: The Lives of the Curzon Sisters''.

Early life

Alexandra was conceived in July 1903 at Naldehra, 25 km from

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, perhaps after a game of high-altitude golf, and was named after that place. Her mother died in 1906 when Alexandra was only two years old. Her father's Indian servants called her "''Baba Sahib''", "Baby Master", and she was thereafter best known as "''Baba''". She and her sisters, Mary Irene and

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

, "''Cimmie''", were brought up in grand houses,

Hackwood Park Hackwood Park is a large country estate that primarily consists of an early 18th-century ornamental woodland and formal lawn garden and a large detached house. It is within the boundaries of Winslade, an overwhelmingly rural parish immediately sou ...

and

Montacute Montacute is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 831 (2011 census). The name Montacute is thought by some to derive from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referring to the conically acute St ...

; their London home, 1 Carlton Gardens in

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Pa ...

, became a centre of elite social life after Curzon's second marriage to Grace Elvina Duggan in 1917. She was dubbed the "prettiest debutante of the 1922 season".CARTER, MIRANDA (2 June 2002) "Poor Little Rich Girls", ''The New York Times'' – Books. Retrieved 4 April 200
"Poor Little Rich Girls"
/ref>

Adulthood

She was the first love of

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...

. However, on 21 July 1925 she married Major

Edward Dudley Metcalfe Edward Dudley Metcalfe MVO MC (16 January 1887 – 18 November 1957), known as Fruity Metcalfe, was an officer in the Indian Army and a close friend of and equerry to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor. Early lif ...

, the best friend and

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to ' squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

of George's older brother,

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January ...

. She was one of a handful of witnesses to Edward's marriage to

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

. The Metcalfes had a son, David (1927–2012), and twin daughters, Dinah (later known as Davina) and Sheilah (later known as Linda) born November 1930, registered at St Georges Hanover Square. Lady Alexandra had affairs with

Jock Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the ''New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whit ...

, Michael Lubbock,

Walter Monckton Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician. Early years Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper m ...

, and

Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham Charles William Slingsby "Sim" Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham DSO (2 November 1906 – 4 September 1963), styled the Hon. Charles Duncombe until 1915 and then Viscount Helmsley until he succeeded his father in 1916, was a British Conservative pol ...

. Before World War II she earned the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expl ...

Baba

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

, and for a while played a murky role as a semiwitting go-between for

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

and her other lover at the time,

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was a ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

's ambassador to London, while simultaneously enjoying the romantic devotion of the foreign secretary,

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 193 ...

, who was staying at the same

Dorchester Hotel The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

as Alexandra and her sister.

Later life

The main thrust of Baba's later life was her tireless efforts for the

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, a commitment that lasted for more than 40 years. Lady Alexandra joined the Save the Children Fund in 1950 and was very active in fund-raising in London. In 1955, she and her husband divorced and she became a member of the fund's governing council. Later she would become chairman of the Overseas Relief and Welfare Committee, which controls all overseas work of the fund. In 1974 she was elected vice-president.

Honours

She was appointed

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for those efforts in 1975.Gilmour, David (28 October 2000) "Washing one's mother's linen" a review of THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS: THE LIVES OF THE CURZON SISTERS by Anne de Courcy, The Spectator. Retrieved 4 September 200
a review of THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS

Death

She died on 7 August 1995 at age 91 at

John Radcliffe Hospital The John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe, an 18th-century physic ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

In popular culture

Alexandra was portrayed in the 1980 seven-episode television mini-series, '' Edward and Mrs. Simpson'', which won the 1980 Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. She was portrayed by

Flora Montgomery Flora Anne Selina Montgomery (born 4 January 1974) is a Northern Irish actress. Early life and family Montgomery was born at her family's ancestral home in Greyabbey, County Down, the daughter of William Howard Clive Montgomery, OBE, of Rosemo ...

in the four-episode Channel Four (UK) television drama mini-series '' Mosley'' in 1998. It was based on the books ''Rules of the Game'' and ''Beyond the Pale'' by Nicholas Mosley, Mosley's son. She was portrayed by

Rebecca Saire Rebecca Saire (born 16 April 1963) is a British actress and writer who gained early attention when, at the age of fourteen, she played Juliet for the ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' series. Stage * Sybil in ''Private Lives'' ( National Theatr ...

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

of ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

'', in the episode "Vergangenheit".

References

*Sarah Bradford, (9 August 1995) Lady Alexandra Metcalfe, ''The Independent'', London. Retrieved 9 April 200
Short Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curzon, Alexandra 1904 births 1995 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alexandra Daughters of British marquesses English people of American descent English people of Swiss descent