Patsy Cornwallis-West

Mary Adelaide Virginia Thomasina Eupatoria Cornwallis-West (née FitzPatrick) was born circa 1856 into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family. Her father was Reverend Frederick FitzPatrick, a descendant of the 1st Baron Upper Ossory, and her mother was Lady Olivia Taylour, daughter of Thomas Taylour, 2nd Marquess of Headfort.

Her early life was marked by her family background within the British aristocracy. Notably, her mother made an unsuccessful attempt to seduce Albert, Prince Consort. At the age of approximately 16, Cornwallis-West became involved in an affair with Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, who later ascended to the throne as King Edward VII. The affair was discovered, bringing her notoriety at a young age.

In 1872, she married William Cornwallis-West, who served as Lord-Lieutenant of Denbighshire. William was significantly older than Cornwallis-West and had served as a Member of Parliament for Denbighshire West from 1885 to 1892. The couple resided at Ruthin Castle and had three children:

1. Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West (known as Daisy), born in 1873 and died in 1943, married Prince Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg.

2. George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West, born in 1874 and died in 1951, married Jennie Jerome in 1900, an American heiress. Jennie Jerome was the widow of Lord Randolph Churchill and the mother of Winston Churchill. George and Jennie divorced in 1914, and George later married stage actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell.

3. Constance Edwina Cornwallis-West (also known as Shelagh), born in 1875 and died in 1970, married Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, in 1901. They divorced in 1919, and she later married Captain John Fitzpatrick Lewis, fourteen years her junior.

Throughout her life, Cornwallis-West leveraged her close relationship with the Prince of Wales to influence marriage arrangements for her children, notably arranging her younger daughter's marriage to the Duke of Westminster.

She was related through her brother Oliver Thomas Edward FitzPatrick (1863–1928) and his wife Phoebe Lucretia Willoughby White to Olivia Lucretia FitzPatrick (1894–1971). Olivia married Austrian Imperial Councillor Count Johann Heinrich Franz Maria Larisch von Moennich.

In 1915, Cornwallis-West began a relationship with Patrick Barrett, a shell-shocked soldier significantly younger than her. She was involved in efforts to promote Barrett's military career, which caused a scandal. She was widowed in 1917 while her husband was still alive and died of stomach cancer in 1920.

Her life was depicted in popular culture when actress Jennie Linden portrayed her in the 1978 miniseries "Lillie," which was based on the life of her friend Lillie Langtry, another lover of Edward VII.