Charles Felix Otho Victor Gabriel John Adrian Hope-NicholsonFamily First: Tracing Relationships in the Past, Ruth Alexandra Symes, Pen and Sword History, 2015, pg 83 (21 July 1921 – 15 September 1990) was a British aristocrat and genealogist. '' The Herald'' of Scotland called him a "tall, imposing figure known as the Squire of Chelsea", and noted that after

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and the war he had "dedicated his life to the greater glory of his ancestors, in particular the

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

family and the Hopes of

Hopetoun House Hopetoun House is a country house near South Queensferry owned by the Hopetoun House Preservation Trust, a charity established in 1974 to preserve the house and grounds as a national monument, to protect and improve their amenities, and to pre ...

Biography

The son of

Hedley Hope-Nicholson Hedley Hope-Nicholson (born William Hedley Kenelm Nicholson; 17 July 1888 – 18 July 1969), barrister and littérateur, was, with his wife Jaqueline, notable in English artistic and literary circles in the first half of the twentieth century. Ear ...

, a barrister, head of the

Society of King Charles the Martyr The Society of King Charles the Martyr is an Anglican devotional society dedicated to the cult of Saint Charles the Martyr, a title of Charles I of England (1600–1649). It is a member of the Catholic Societies of the Church of England, an A ...

and heir to a raincoat fortune, in his young years Felix Hope-Nicholson was a notable figure in high society in London, and was often seen socialising at The Ritz. During an air raid during World War II, in a drunken state, he tripped and fell on King

Zog of Albania Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as King ...

, who was staying at the hotel at the time. By the 1970s he was described as "impoverished", but successfully kept up the appearance of a "bachelor dandy". He lived in the house in which he was raised, More House on

Tite Street Tite Street is a street in Chelsea, London, England, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, just north of the River Thames. It was laid out from 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, giving access to the Chelsea Embankment. His ...

. Hope-Nicholson was a friend of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

and Hamish Erskine (son of the 5th Earl of Rosslyn), a "notoriously vain, rather silly and extremely amusing" homosexual, unofficially ('listlessly') engaged to

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

until Erskine ended the relationship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Felix 1921 births 1990 deaths 1940s in London English genealogists English socialites People educated at Eton College People from Chelsea, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford