rewind.
In 1895, Warwick Castle hosted one of the grandest balls ever to take place within its walls – a fancy-dress party inspired by pre-revolutionary French aristocracy, attended by no fewer than four hundred of England’s wealthiest. The event was so extravagant it overwhelmed every high-end hairdresser and costumer in London. Its purpose? To welcome the 5th Earl of Warwick and his wife to their newly inherited estate. But while it was Francis Greville who assumed his father’s title and status, it was Daisy – dressed as Marie Antoinette – who stole the show.
Daisy Greville was no stranger to the spotlight. Born into the aristocratic Maynard family, she was wealthy and well-connected in her own right, once even considered a potential bride for Prince Leopold, the youngest son of Queen Victoria. Yet despite her marriage to Francis Greville, her love life was far from conventional. She conducted affairs with Admiral and politician Lord Charles Beresford, millionaire sailor Joe Laycock (who would father two of her children), and – most famously – the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII.
Daisy and Edward maintained a nine-year relationship, during which she was considered his primary mistress. The pair distanced themselves after speculation arose over the paternity of her son, Maynard Greville – who was, in truth, Laycock’s child. Her husband, Francis, was seemingly never seriously considered a possible father.
While her affairs were something of an open secret, Daisy’s political ambitions were even more public. Following the 1895 ball, she demanded a meeting with journalist Robert Blatchford, who had published a scathing article about her extravagance. Ironically, it was through his criticism that Daisy was introduced to socialism. In 1923, she unsuccessfully stood for Parliament, attempting to represent Leamington and Warwick as a Labour candidate – against none other than Anthony Eden, her daughter-in-law’s brother and a future Prime Minister. Though she often appeared out of touch – campaigning for the working class in Labour-red heels and strings of pearls – she was generally well-meaning, funding schools and supporting Warwick’s poor and disabled.
Perhaps Daisy’s most eccentric legacy, however, was her founding of a private zoo in 1890. She had long displayed a deep love of animals, chairing the Essex branch of the RSPCA and keeping retired circus ponies at her family estate, Easton Lodge. But it was at Warwick Castle that she launched her most ambitious endeavour. Her menagerie, which operated for thirteen years, was located on the river island now home to the trebuchet and jousting arena. It hosted a herd of Japanese deer, a flock of Chinese geese, raccoons, two emus, an aardvark, and a baby elephant named Kim. This was just one of many impulsive expenses under Daisy’s tenure – her evening parties alone could cost the equivalent of a year’s income for an average household – but her zoo was a notorious talking point of its time, with one story claiming her emus once chased a bishop through the shrubberies.
A socialite, a political hopeful, and a philanthropic heiress, Daisy Greville left an indelible mark on Warwick’s history, propelling the Castle and its residents into the 20th century with flair. Her time as Countess has been immortalised in a permanent exhibition at the Castle, recreating one of her glittering weekend house parties, which hosted the likes of Winston Churchill and the Prince of Wales himself. Warwick’s most famous Countess since the Wars of the Roses, Daisy’s life offers a vivid window into the society and politics of her age – a reminder of the aristocracy’s deeply interwoven, and often unconventional, lifestyles: equal parts lavish, scandalous, and fascinating.
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