Sonia Cubitt, Baroness Ashcombe

Sonia Rosemary Cubitt, née Keppel, previously known as The Hon. Mrs. Cubitt, was born on 24 May 1900 and died on 16 August 1986. She was a British socialite, author, and member of the aristocracy. Sonia was the first wife of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe, and through her only daughter Rosalind, she was the maternal grandmother of Queen Camilla. She was also the daughter of Alice Keppel, a noted mistress of King Edward VII.

Childhood and Family Background:

Sonia Rosemary Keppel was the youngest child of the Hon. George Keppel (1865–1947) and Alice Frederica Keppel (née Edmonstone; 1868–1947). Her maternal grandfather was Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet. Her father was the son of William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle, and Sophia Mary Keppel (née MacNab). Sonia’s mother, Alice Keppel, was known as a British society hostess and a long-term royal mistress of King Edward VII. Alice Keppel was also a goddaughter of Dame Margaret Greville and inherited part of her fortune. Sonia had one sibling, Violet Trefusis (née Keppel), an English writer and socialite.

Marriage and Offspring:

Sonia met Roland Calvert Cubitt, then an officer in the Coldstream Guards, shortly after the end of World War I. At that time, Sonia was eighteen years old, and Roland was nearly twenty. Roland was the fourth of six sons of Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe; all three older brothers had been killed during World War I. Roland was heir to the Ashcombe Barony and a family estate established by his great-grandfather, Thomas Cubitt. Sonia and Roland married on 16 November 1920 at the Guards Chapel of Wellington Barracks in London.

The couple had three children:

- Rosalind Maud Cubitt (1921–1994), who married Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand, with whom she had three children: Camilla Rosemary Shand (later Queen Camilla), Sonia Annabel Shand, and Mark Roland Shand.

- Henry Edward Cubitt (1924–2013), who succeeded as the 4th Baron Ashcombe upon his father’s death. He married Ghislaine Alexander (née Dresselhuys), Virginia Carington (daughter of Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington), and Mary Elizabeth Dent-Brocklehurst (née Chipps).

- Jeremy John Cubitt (1927–1958), who married Diana Edith Du Cane and had one child, Sarah Victoria Cubitt (born 1953).

Sonia and Roland’s marriage was dissolved on 4 July 1947, shortly before Roland inherited the title of 3rd Baron Ashcombe. During their marriage, Sonia was styled the Hon. Mrs. Cubitt.

Career:

Sonia was an author and a writer like her sister Violet Trefusis. She authored several books, including "Three Brothers at Havana, 1762" and "The Sovereign Lady: A Life of Elizabeth Vassall, Third Lady Holland," which detailed historical and biographical subjects. In recognition of her contributions, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1959.

Later Life and Death:

Sonia suffered from chronic osteoporosis in her later years. She passed away on 16 August 1986 at the age of 86. She was survived by her daughter Rosalind, her elder son Henry, and four grandchildren. Her younger son Jeremy predeceased her in 1958 at age 30, and her daughter Rosalind died from the disease in 1994.

Her granddaughter, Camilla Shand (later Queen Camilla), became involved with osteoporosis awareness and charity work, serving as patron and later president of the National Osteoporosis Society, partly inspired by her family's history with the disease.

Memoir:

In 1958, Sonia published a memoir titled "Edwardian Daughter," which recounts her childhood experiences in high-society during the Edwardian era. The memoir was dedicated to her daughter Rosalind.