Daisy, Princess of Pless

Daisy, Princess of Pless (Mary Theresa Olivia; née Cornwallis-West; 28 June 1873 – 29 June 1943) was a noted society beauty in the

Born Mary Theresa Olivia

During her marriage, Daisy, known in German as the Fürstin von Pless, became a social reformer and militated for peace with her friends

After her divorce at Berlin on 12 December 1922 she published a series of memoirs that were widely read in the United Kingdom, the United States, and, in the German language, in Continental Europe.'The Private Diaries of Princess Daisy of Pless – 1873–1914, edited by Major Desmond Chapman-Huston, were first published in London by John Murray in 1931. This was the second selection from her diaries and, according to his introduction were from a series of diaries totalling 600,000 words. The diaries describe the Princess's life as a member of the European aristocracy, and include sometimes frank descriptions of significant pre-war political and social figures.

Personal life and family

On 8 December 1891, in

The couple had four children:[3]

• Daughter (25 February 1893 – 11 March 1893).^{[citation needed]}
• Hans Heinrich XVII William Albert Edward (2 February 1900 – 26 January 1984), 4th Prince of Pless, Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein. Married twice but had no issue.
• Alexander Frederick William George Conrad Ernest Maximilian (1 February 1905 – 22 February 1984), 5th Prince of Pless, Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein. Unmarried and childless.
• Bolko Conrad Frederick (23 September 1910 – 22 June 1936), who later caused a scandal by marrying his stepmother Clotilde de Silva y Gonzáles de Candamo (19 July 1898 – 12 December 1978), daughter of the 10th Marquis de Arcicóllar (and Hans Heinrich XV's second wife). Father of Bolko, 6th Prince.

Hans Heinrich married as his second wife, at London on 25 January 1925, Clotilde de Silva y González de Candamo (1898–1978), daughter of José de Silva y Borchgrave d'Altena, Marquis de Arcicollar. This marriage produced two children, and was annulled in 1934. Subsequently, Clotilde married her stepson, Bolko, and was the mother of Daisy's and Hans Heinrich's only grandchildren.

Daisy's brother

The Princess of Pless was a Dame of the Order of Theresa of Bavaria and of the Order of Isabella the Catholic of Spain, and was awarded the German Red Cross Decoration.^[4]

Death

Daisy, Princess of Pless, died in 1943 in relative poverty at Waldenburg, Silesia (now Wałbrzych, Poland). She was initially buried near the Hochberg family mausoleum. Her grave had been plundered and her remains had been desecrated by Red Army soldiers in 1945, and she was reburied in an undisclosed location.^[5][6]

Ancestry

Notes

Citations