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Nancy Elizabeth Louise Hardy, Lady Smiley (née Beaton; 30 September 1909 – 6 June 1999) was an English socialite who, together with her sister, Baba Beaton, was known as one of the Beaton Sisters and was included in ''The Book of Beauty'' by their brother,
In January 1933 she married Sir Hugh Houston Smiley, 3rd Baronet (1905–1990). Constance Spry arranged the flowers and the wedding was a notable society event. The dresses were designed by her brother, Cecil Beaton. Baba Beaton, Margaret Whigham, Lady Bridget Poulett, and Lady Anne Wellesley were among the bridesmaids.
According to her brother Cecil Beaton in ''The Book of Beauty'' (1933): "I am enthralled at the childish intentness and gaiety of Nancy when looking for a coral tiara in a curiosity shop, by the complexion that emerges from underneath the water after she has fallen off an aquaplane board, by her dazzling blondness when, like a Gainsborough, writing her diary on a haystack."
She died on 6 June 1999.
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...
.
Biography
Nancy Beaton was born 30 September 1909, in London, the daughter of Ernest Walter Hardy Beaton (1867–1936), a timber merchant from Hampstead, and Esther "Etty" Sisson (1872–1962). Her paternal grandfather was Walter Hardy Beaton (1841–1904), founder of the family business "Beaton Brothers Timber Merchants and Agents". On 4 December 1909 she was baptized into theChurch of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
as Nancy Elizabeth Louise Hardy at St Mary's Church, Kilburn, with her parents recorded as Ernest Walter and Esther Beaton.
Nancy was one of the first models of her brother Cecil.
Nancy Beaton was presented as a debutante at court in 1928, at the Queen Charlotte's Ball
The Queen Charlotte's Ball is an annual British debutante ball. The ball was founded in 1780 by George III as a birthday celebration in honour of his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the ball is named. The Queen Charlotte's Ball ...
, in the presence of 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 ...
. She was part of a Bright Young Things' scandal when she, Stephen Tennant, and David Plunket Greene were thrown out from a party at the home of the Countess of Ellesmere they were crashing.
In January 1933 she married Sir Hugh Houston Smiley, 3rd Baronet (1905–1990). Constance Spry arranged the flowers and the wedding was a notable society event. The dresses were designed by her brother, Cecil Beaton. Baba Beaton, Margaret Whigham, Lady Bridget Poulett, and Lady Anne Wellesley were among the bridesmaids.
According to her brother Cecil Beaton in ''The Book of Beauty'' (1933): "I am enthralled at the childish intentness and gaiety of Nancy when looking for a coral tiara in a curiosity shop, by the complexion that emerges from underneath the water after she has fallen off an aquaplane board, by her dazzling blondness when, like a Gainsborough, writing her diary on a haystack."
She died on 6 June 1999.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaton, Nancy 1909 births 1999 deaths British debutantes English female models Wives of baronets Models from London People from Kilburn, London Socialites from London