Margaret Greville

Dame Margaret Helen Greville, ( Anderson; 20 December 1863 – 15 September 1942), was a British society hostess and philanthropist. She was the wife of the Hon. Ronald Greville (1864–1908). Family background Born Margaret Helen Anderson, she was the daughter of William McEwan (1827–1913), a brewery multimillionaire, later elected as an M.P. (Member of Parliament) for Edinburgh Central; and his mistress, Helen Anderson (1835/1836–1906), a cook, who was married to William Anderson, a porter at McEwan's brewery in Edinburgh. Following William Anderson's death in 1885, William McEwan married Helen later the same year, when Margaret was 21. Life In 1891, Margaret Anderson married the Hon. Ronald Greville (1864–1908). In 1906, her father purchased Polesden Lacey in Great Bookham, Surrey for her and her husband. Her husband died two years later, and her father (who also lived at Polesden Lacey) in 1913. Margaret became known at Polesden Lacey as a society hostess; and was a close friend of Queen Mary. She received proposals of marriage from Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise and (in 1917) from Sir John Simon, but declined both. She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1922.