Almina, Countess of Carnarvon
Encyclopedia
George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon
George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.-Biography:...
, and châtelaine of Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle is a country house in the Jacobethan style, with park designed by Capability Brown. The 1,000 acre estate is in the English county of Hampshire, about south of the border with Berkshire, and south of Newbury...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
She was born Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell, daughter of Marie Wombwell née Boyer, the wife of Captain Frederick Charles Wombwell. However, her real father was widely recognized as Alfred de Rothschild
Alfred de Rothschild
Alfred Charles de Rothschild was the second son of Lionel de Rothschild and Baroness Charlotte von Rothschild of the prominent Rothschild family....
, an unmarried member of the prominent Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
, who in 1918 made her his heiress shortly before his death.
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:
- Henry George Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898–1987), who married Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell and had issue.
- Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert (15 August 1901–1980), who married Sir Brograve Campbell Beauchamp, 2nd Bt. and had issue.
The Earl developed an interest in Egyptology and became the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb
KV62
KV62 is the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings , which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was spared from the worst of...
in the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
, assisted by Almina's wealth. In November 1922 her husband and daughter were present with archaeologist Howard Carter
Howard Carter
Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...
at the opening of the tomb.
In March 1923 she travelled to Egypt to be with her husband who had developed pneumonia. The Earl died on 5 April 1923 and Almina returned with his body to England later that month.
The only son, Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert (1898–1987), succeeded his father as sixth earl. Almina remarried in the same year to Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Onslow Dennistoun. She continued to finance Howard Carter's work in the Valley of the Kings.
She died in diminished circumstances in 1969 in Bristol, at the age of 93.
High Court case
In 1925 the Countess of Carnarvon was involved in a sensational court case, known as the "Bachelor's Case" at the High Court of JusticeHigh Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
between her husband Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Dennistoun and his ex-wife Dorothy Dennistoun. When the Dennistouns divorced, Mr Dennistoun could not pay ancillary relief
Ancillary relief
In English law, an application for financial relief following the presentation of a petition for divorce, nullity or judicial separation is described as ancillary relief...
. He instead promised that he would provide for his ex-wife in the future when he had the money. After hearing about Almina's wealth after the marriage, Dorothy Dennistoun demanded the alimony money she had been promised. Almina saw this as blackmail and persuaded her new husband to take his ex-wife to court for what Sir Henry McCardie
Henry McCardie
Sir Henry Alfred McCardie was a controversial British judge. Educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham he left school at 16 and spent several years working for an auctioneer before qualifying as a barrister and being called to the Bar in 1894...
, who tried the case, called "the most bitterly conducted litigation I have ever known". A brilliant courtroom speech by Norman Birkett persuaded the jury to decide to disregard the agreement of Mr Dennistoun to pay ancillary relief to his former wife.
Biographies
- Carnarvon, Fiona (2011). Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle. London: Hodder. ISBN 978-1-4447-3082-1
- Cross, William (2011). The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon. ISBN 978-1-905914-07-4