Joan Yarde-Buller
Viscountess Camrose
Princess Tajuddawlah Aga Khan
The Hon. Mrs. Guinness
Full name
Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller
Born(1908-04-22)22 April 1908
Died25 April 1997(1997-04-25) (aged 89)
Spouse(s)
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(m. 1927; div. 1936)​
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(m. 1936; div. 1949)​
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(m. 1986; died 1995)​
Issue
FatherJohn Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston
MotherDenise Orme

The Hon. Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller (22 April 1908 – 25 April 1997), also known in her three marriages as Joan Guinness, Princess Taj-ud-dawlah Aga Khan, and Viscountess Camrose, was an English socialite, one of the Bright Young Things.[1]

Early life

Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller was born on 22 April 1908. She was the eldest of six children born to John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston, the aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India, and Denise Orme, a former music hall singer. Among her siblings were brother, Richard Yarde-Buller, who became the 4th Baron Churston; sister Lydia Yarde-Buller, who became the Duchess of Bedford (wife of Ian Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford); and Primrose Yarde-Buller, who became the Countess Cadogan (wife of William Cadogan, 7th Earl Cadogan). After her parents divorce in 1928, her mother married Danish diplomat Tito Wessel. They too divorced and Denise married Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster.[2]

Her father was the only son of John Yarde-Buller, 2nd Baron Churston and Barbara Yelverton (herself the only child of Sir Hastings Yelverton and the 20th Baroness Grey de Ruthyn).[3]

Personal life

On 4 July 1927, Joan married Loel Guinness, at St Margaret's, Westminster in London.[4][5] Guinness, a British Conservative Member of Parliament,[6] was the only son of Irish lawyer Benjamin Seymour Guinness (of the Guinness brewing family), and his first wife, Bridget Henrietta Frances Williams-Bulkeley.[7] They had one son:

Joan left Guinness for Prince Aly Khan, the eldest son of the Aga Khan III, the 48th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, and Guinness successfully sued Joan and Khan on grounds of adultery. Joan and Khan did not defend the charges and the judge, Justice Bucknill, granted Guinness a decree nisi and full custody of their son and ordered Khan to pay court costs.[11]

Second marriage

A few days after the divorce from Guinness was effective, on 18 May 1936, in Paris, Joan Yarde-Buller married Prince Aly Khan. Before the wedding, Yarde-Buller converted to Islam and took the name "Taj-ud-dawlah", meaning "Crown of the Realm".[12][13][14] Yarde-Buller and Khan had two sons:

They divorced in 1949 and the Prince later married Rita Hayworth.[17][18]

Third marriage

In March 1986, Joan married lastly Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose, a newspaper magnate. They had been friends for more than thirty years. They lived at Hackwood Park, the Camrose home in Hampshire.[19]

After his death in 1995, she was known as the Dowager Viscountess Camrose, also known as Joan, Viscountess Camrose.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Showing Aside the Jazz Set in English Society - 10 Jan 1937, Sun • Page 95". The Philadelphia Inquirer: 95. 1937. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Duchess of Leinster, 86, Dead; Former Star of London Stage; Grandmother of Aga Khanu. As Denise Orme, She Won Acclaim in Edwardian Era". The New York Times. 22 October 1960. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  3. ^ Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 81.
  4. ^ "Joan Yarde-Buller to Wed Loel Guinness". The New York Times. 28 February 1927. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ "ROYALTY ATTENDS GUINNESS WEDDING; Son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Guinness Marries the Hon. Joan Yarde-Buller IN ST. MARGARET'S, LONDON Carnegie Officiates -- Bride Is Daughter of Baron Churston-Couple to Live in Pittsburgh". The New York Times. 5 July 1927. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Amusing Turns Brighten Coming-of-Age Party - 16 Jul 1927, Sat • Page 33". The Winnipeg Tribune: 33. 1927. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Mrs. B.S. Guinness, Noted Hostess, Dies – Succumbs to Heart Disease at Cannes, France, After a Visit to New York – Original in Entertaining – While a Resident Here Tried to Help Ambitious Youths to a Career in the Drama". The New York Times. 6 January 1931. p. 27. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Son to Mrs. Loel Guinness". The New York Times. 11 March 1931. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  9. ^ Mosley, Charles, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 1695.
  10. ^ "Mr. Patrick Guinness Killed in Car Crash". The Times. 6 October 1965. p. 12.
  11. ^ "Decree Nisi for Mr. Loel Guinness – Guinness v. Guinness and Khan – Before Mr. Justice Bucknill". The Times. 5 November 1935. p. 5.
  12. ^ "London Divorce Suit Names Indian Prince". The New York Times. 20 June 1935. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Guinnesses are divorced". The New York Times. 5 November 1935. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Guinness Divorce Is Absolute". The New York Times. 12 May 1936. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  15. ^ "An Imam From Harvard; Aga Khan IV". The New York Times. 13 July 1957. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  16. ^ Nemy, Enid (5 February 1967). "The Uncomplicated Life of a Prince on the East Side". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Thomas L.E.B. Guinness Weds". The New York Times. 8 April 1951. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  18. ^ Times, Special to The New York (14 September 1960). "ALY KHAN'S WILL IS READ; Children Get Most of Estate -- Model Given $280,000". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  19. ^ Lord Camrose (4 March 1995). "A press baron of his time". The Guardian. p. 39.
  20. ^ "Joan Viscountess Camrose. Society hostess whose son became the Aga Khan before she married a press baron". The Daily Telegraph. 29 April 1997. p. 25. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
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