Michael Temple Canfield (born Anthony Kerslake; August 20, 1926 – December 20, 1969) was an American diplomatic aide and secretary at the US Embassy in London during the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victor ...

who later worked in London as an editorial representative of

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

. He was the first husband of Caroline Lee Bouvier.

Early life

As an infant, he was adopted by Katherine Temple (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Emmet) Canfield, a descendant of Irish immigrant and

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...

, and her then husband,

Cass Canfield Augustus Cass Canfield (April 26, 1897 – March 27, 1986) was an American publishing executive who was the longtime president and chairman of Harper & Brothers, later Harper & Row. Early life Canfield was the son of Augustus Cass Canfield (1854� ...

, a publishing executive who was the longtime president and chairman of

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...

and, later,

. His older brother was Cass Canfield Jr., also a publishing executive. His parents divorced in June 1937 and his father remarried to Jane Sage (née White) Fuller (1897–1984), an author and sculptor. She was the former wife of Charles Fairchild Fuller and a relative of Ernest Ingersoll.

Disputed paternity

According to the memoirs of

Loelia, Duchess of Westminster Loelia Mary, Lady Lindsay, formerly Loelia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, (''née'' Ponsonby; 6 February 1902 – 1 November 1993), was a British socialite, needlewoman and magazine editor. Family and first marriage Lindsay was the only ...

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 ...

believed that Canfield was actually the biological son of his brother Prince George, Duke of Kent (the fourth son of King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

) and

Kiki Preston Alice "Kiki" Preston (''née'' Gwynne, formerly Allen; 1898 – December 23, 1946) was an American socialite, a member of the Happy Valley set, and the alleged mother of a child born out of wedlock with Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth s ...

, a "glamorous but drug-addicted American socialite who was a member of Kenya’s notorious

Happy Valley set The Happy Valley set was a group of mostly British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya between the 1920s and the 1940s. ...

". Preston died by suicide on December 23, 1946.

Education and career

Canfield attended the Brooks School in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonizati ...

on the shores of

Lake Cochichewick Lake Cochichewick is a lake in North Andover, Massachusetts that collects water from Weir Hill and other local uplands. Its overflow drains into the Cochichewick River, which joins the Merrimack River, Merrimack. Brooks School, a private co-educ ...

, before serving in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

where he was wounded at

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. After the war, he returned to the U.S. where he attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

(where he was a member of the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 and A.D. Club), graduating in 1951. After Harvard, he went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as an aide to Winthrop W. Aldrich and secretary to

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...

when they were

Ambassadors An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Court of St James The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally acc ...

under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. He later worked in London as an editorial representative of Harper & Row where his father was publisher. In London, he lived at Canfield House in

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

and was elected a member of

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

, the elite

gentleman's club A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with th ...

St James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...

. In New York, he was a member of the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

Personal life

Canfield married Caroline Lee Bouvier (known as “Lee”) on April 18, 1953 at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Bouvier was the younger of two daughters of stockbroker

John Vernou Bouvier III John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III ( ; May 19, 1891 – August 3, 1957) was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Princess Lee Radziwill, and was the fathe ...

and his wife, socialite Janet Norton Lee (later married to Hugh D. Auchincloss). A few months after their wedding, Bouvier's older sister Jacqueline married

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, and future President,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. Canfield was an usher while Bouvier was matron of honor to her sister. Canfield and Bouvier divorced in 1958, and the marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church in November 1962. In March 1959, Bouvier married the Polish aristocrat Prince Stanisław Radziwill. On June 13, 1960, Canfield married Laura Charteris in a civil ceremony in the registrar's office at

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

followed by a reception at Laura's country home, Hertfordshire House, Coleshill. She was the sister of novelist Hugo Charteris, Ann Charteris the wife of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, and Mary Rose Charteris. The siblings were the grandchildren of

Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL (25 August 1857 – 12 July 1937), styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a British Conservative politician. Early life He was the fifth but eldest surviving son of The 1 ...

. Laura was twice divorced, firstly from

Walter Long, 2nd Viscount Long Walter Francis David Long, 2nd Viscount Long (14 September 1911 – 23 September 1944), was a British peer and soldier. Early life The eldest son of Brigadier-General Walter Long (d. 1917) and Sibell Vanden Bempde-Johnstone, granddaughter ...

and secondly from William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. Laura's second husband, William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, married thirdly Grace Maria (

Kolin) Radziwill (1923–2016), daughter of Dr. Michael Kolin and Anna Tironi of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Grace was the second wife of Prince Stanislaus Radziwill. The Prince's third wife was Canfield's first wife, Lee Radziwiłł.

Death

On December 20, 1969, Canfield died of a heart attack while on a

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the ...

flight from New York to London at the age of 43. His widow married for the fourth time to John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, the eldest son of the American heiress

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was an American socialite and member of the Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the 9th D ...

and her former husband,

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canfield, Michael Temple 1926 births 1969 deaths Brooks School alumni Harvard University alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Bern Illegitimate children of British royalty