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Freda Dudley Ward, 1919

Winifred May, Marquesa de Casa Maury (28 July 1894 – 16 March 1983), universally known by her first married name as Freda Dudley Ward, was an English socialite best known for being a mistress of the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII.

Born Winifred May Birkin, she was the eldest of three daughters^[1] of Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin, a British textile magnate or lace king of Nottinghamshire (fourth son of Sir Thomas Isaac Birkin, 1st Bt.),^[2] and his American wife, the former Claire Lloyd Howe. She was the mistress of the Prince of Wales from 1918 to 1923, after which she remained his close confidante until 1934 and the beginning of his relationship with Wallis Simpson.^[3]

Her distant relative is the actress Jane Birkin, the elder daughter of a much younger first cousin.

Her sister Vera Lilian Margaret Birkin married Frank James Wriothesley Seely, grandson of Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet and great great grandson of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford. Vera's son Timothy Ward Seely is rumoured to be the illegitimate son of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, who was a godfather along with Winston Churchill to David Peter Seely, 4th Baron Mottistone, who is also a grandson of Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet.

Freda Birkin was twice married, firstly 9 July 1913 (divorced 1931) to The Right Honourable William Dudley Ward, Liberal MP for Southampton. They had two daughters.

Her second husband was Pedro Jose Isidro Manuel Ricardo Mones, Marques de Casa Maury. They married 20 October 1937, and divorced 1954.

Though her first husband's family surname was Ward, the combination "Dudley Ward" eventually became their official surname, through common usage.

Issue (by first husband):

• Penelope Ann Rachel Dudley Ward (1914 – 1982), the actress Penelope Dudley Ward, later Lady Reed, known as Pempie^[4], who married 1stly 1939 (divorced 1944) Anthony Pelissier, by whom she had a daughter, and secondly in 1948, Sir Carol Reed, by whom she had a son.^[5]
  • Tracy Reed (b. 1942 as Clare Pelissier) actress; first wife of Edward Fox, the actor; they had one daughter.
• Claire Angela Louise Dudley Ward (1916 – 1999) later Lady Laycock, or Angie^[6], who married in 1935 the commando leader Major-General Sir Robert Laycock^[7], by whom she had two sons and three daughters^[8]. Of her five children, her son
  • Joseph William Peter Laycock (Joe Laycock) (1938 – 1980) was married to the actress Lucy Fleming, née Eve Lucinda Fleming, niece of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond; they have issue.

Footnotes

1. ^ Anonymous. Obituary for her cousin Bindy Lambton, or the former Countess of Durham, published in The Daily Telegraph on 18 February 2003. [1]
2. ^ Darryl Landy. Information on Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin and his wife. Last edited 15 March 2005. [2]
3. ^ Philip Ziegler King Edward VIII: The Official Biography (Collins, London, 1990) p.94-100.
4. ^ Anonymous. Obituary for her cousin Bindy Lambton, or the former Countess of Durham, published in The Daily Telegraph on 18 February 2003. [3]
5. ^ Darryl Landy. Information on Penelope Dudley Ward. Last edited 11 September 2006 [4]
6. ^ Ibid.
7. ^ Information on death date from The Peerage database, retrieved 14 December 2007.
8. ^ Darryl Landy. Information on "Lady Clare Angela Louise Ward", mistitled because she was Lady Laycock, but not Lady Clare Angela Louise Ward as daughter of an earl. Last edited 21 Jan 2006.

Sources

• Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 107th Edition Volume III Burke's Peerage - Preview Family Record at www.burkes-peerage.net]
• King of Fools by John Parker [[5]]
• The Peerage database