Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon

Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon (15 August 1876 – 8 May 1969), was the wife of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, and châtelaine of Highclere Castle in Hampshire.[1] After her second marriage, she was known as Almina Dennistoun.

The Right Honourable The Countess of Carnarvon
Lady Carnarvon at the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra, 9 August 1902
Born	Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell 15 August 1876 Paris, France
Died	8 May 1969 (aged 92) Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England
Spouse(s)	George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon ​ ​ (m. 1895; died 1923)​ Ian Onslow Dennistoun ​ ​ (m. 1923; died 1938)​
Children	Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon Lady Evelyn Beauchamp
Parent(s)	Alfred de Rothschild Marie Boyer

Life

She was born Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell,[2] the only child of Marie Wombwell, née Boyer, the French wife of Captain Frederick Charles Wombwell, a British Army officer. However, her biological father may have been the banker Alfred de Rothschild, of the Rothschild family, who left her considerable wealth.[3]

On 26 June 1895, at St Margaret's, Westminster, she married George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon. The couple had two children:[4]

• Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898–1987), who married Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell and had one son, (the 7th Earl) and one daughter.[5]
• Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert (1901–1980), who married Sir Brograve Campbell Beauchamp, 2nd Bt. and had a daughter.[6]

At the beginning of the First World War, Lady Carnarvon opened a hospital for war wounded at Highclere Castle, helping with the organisation and assisting as a nurse.[7] The hospital later moved to Mayfair in London. In 1919, Lady Carnarvon turned down the opportunity of being appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her war work.[8]

The Earl of Carnarvon developed an interest in Egyptology and became the financial backer of the search for Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, assisted by Almina's wealth. In November 1922, her husband and daughter were present with the archaeologist Howard Carter at the opening of the tomb.

In March 1923, Lady Carnarvon travelled to Egypt to join her husband, who had developed pneumonia. He died on 5 April 1923, and Almina returned to Britain with his body later that month.[9] She continued to provide financial support for Carter's excavation of the tomb until 1925, when she reached a settlement with the Egyptian authorities whereby she gave up any claim on the contents of the tomb in return for £36,000 compensation.[10]

The Carnarvons' only son, Henry Herbert (1898–1987), succeeded his father as sixth earl. Later in 1923, Almina married secondly Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Onslow Dennistoun.

Almina Dennistoun died in 1969 in Bristol, at the age of 92.

High Court case

In 1925, Almina Dennistoun was involved in a sensational High Court case, known as the "Bachelor's Case", between her husband, Colonel Dennistoun, and his former wife, Dorothy Dennistoun.[11] When they had divorced, Dennistoun had been unable to pay ancillary relief and instead had promised he would provide for his ex-wife in the future, when he had funds.[11] After hearing about Almina's wealth, Dorothy Dennistoun demanded the alimony she had been promised. Almina saw this as blackmail and persuaded her new husband to contest his former wife's claim in the courts, in what Sir Henry McCardie, who tried the case, called "the most bitterly conducted litigation I have ever known".[11] A courtroom speech by Norman Birkett persuaded the jury to decide to disregard the agreement of Dennistoun to pay ancillary relief to his former wife.[12]

Biographies

• Carnarvon, Fiona, Countess of, Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4447-3082-1)
• Cross, William, The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon (William P.Cross, 2011, ISBN 978-1-905914-07-4)[13]

References

1. "Almina Countess of Carnarvon". Lafayette Negative Archive.
2. Barnard Burke, 1914, p. 387
3. Guardian book review Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona Carnarvon
4. Charles Mosley, ed., Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (Wilmington, Delaware, US: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 107th edition in 3 volumes, 2003)
5. thepeerage.com Henry George Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon
6. "Burke's Peerage 1970, page 206".
7. "Highclere Castle official website". Retrieved 29 October 2017.
8. William Cross. Carnarvon, Carter and Tutankhamun Revisited: The Hidden Truths and Doomed Relationships. p. 47–9 Published by author. 2016. ISBN 9781905914364.
9. Howard Carter's diaries, Griffith Institute, Oxford
10. Bill Price. (21 January 2009). Tutankhamun, Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh. pp. 132–133. Published Pocket Essentials, Hertfordshire. 2007. ISBN 9781842432402.
11. Hyde (1965) p. 135.
12. Hyde (1965) p. 154.
13. The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon

Sources

• Hyde, H. Montgomery (1965). Norman Birkett: The Life of Lord Birkett of Ulverston. Hamish Hamilton. ASIN B000O8CESO. OCLC 255057963.

Further reading

• Cross, William, Lady Carnarvon's Nursing Homes: Nursing the Privileged in Wartime and Peace. 2011 (ISBN 978-1-905914-03-6).
• Cross, William, The Dustbin Case: An Account of Dennistoun versus Dennistoun. 2012 (ISBN 978-1905914-04-3).
• Cross, William, Lordy! Tutankhamun's Patron As A Young Man. Book Midden Publishing, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-905914-05-0).
• Cross, William, Catherine and Tilly: Porchey Carnarvon's Two Duped Wives: The Tragic Tales of the Sixth Countesses of Carnarvon., Book Midden Publishing, 2013 (ISBN 978-1905914-25-8).
• Cross, William, Prince Victor Duleep Singh & the Curse of the Carnarvons. Book Midden Publishing. 2019. [ISBN 9781905914357]

External links

• Highclere Castle, home of the Countess. Official website