From Hollywood to Holloway, how Churchill’s girls coped with life in the limelight
For Winston’s daughters, growing up in the great statesman’s orbit was an overwhelming, often difficult, experience
HAIR flying out behind her, a broad smile on her lips,Winston Churchill’s daughter Sarah appeared on the cover of Life magazine in May 1949. Posted on billboards across the United States, the stunning photograph launched her acting career in America. It was the highpoint of Sarah’s life in the limelight, but it was not the first or the last time Winston’s daughters were to be cover girls.
From their earliest childhood they lived their lives in the public eye.As children of one of Britain’s most famous politicians, the Churchill girls – Diana, Sarah and Mary – became among the most famous young women in Britain after the royal princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.
Their little sister Marigold died aged only two, but from an early age the politician’s remaining daughters grew up in the spotlight.
Diana shunned being centre stage, Sarah revelled in it and Mary tolerated it.They lived lives that were full of drama, romance and tragedy. Their story was one of extremes which goes from Hollywood film sets to Holloway Prison, from the heights of success to the depths of despair. From the moment they were born, all eyes were on Winston and Clementine’s daughters.
When their eldest child, Diana, was still in her pram, stories were splashed across the newspapers about suffragettes plotting to kidnap her. When Winston became Home Secretary in 1910, his lukewarm support for votes for women led more militant campaigners to target his family. For her protection, a detective accompanied 16-month-old Diana and her nanny on their walks in Hyde Park.
By the time she came out as a debutante in the 1920s, Winston had become Chancellor of the Exchequer. The occasion was reported in various newspapers, with a series of flattering articles praising her rose-like complexion and auburn hair and describing her as her father’s “special chum”.
At this time in her life, Diana seemed to enjoy the attention. She was very political and relished campaigning with her father. In 1928, she was photographed walking behind him to the Commons where he was going to present his budget.
BUT Diana was naturally sensitive and lacking in confidence and sometimes living her life in the public eye was the last thing she wanted. When she married her first husband, diamond tycoon’s son John Milner Bailey, their wedding was filmed for Pathe News.The occasion reflected her parents’ taste more than her own. Held at St Margaret’s Westminster, where Winston and Clementine had married two decades earlier, the congregation was packed with politicians.
Crowds crammed the streets, but they were more interested in seeing Winston than the bride. This should have been Diana’s moment of triumph, but it turned into a trial.
Looking fragile in a shimmering white satin dress and tulle veil, she appeared slightly stunned as the flashbulbs from dozens of cameras went off around her. As her father acknowledged the crowds, she seemed very alone and unsure of what to do. Eventually, Diana scurried into the church without waiting for her father.
A few years later, when her first marriage ended in divorce, she did everything possible to avoid publicity. Neither of her parents attended the divorce court as they knew it would attract attention. Instead, their eldest daughter had to face the humiliating experience with just the family’s nanny for support.
In contrast, Winston’s second daughter Sarah, loved being centre stage.As soon as she left finishing school, she knew she wanted to be a dancer. In 1935, she made her debut as one of Mr Cochran’s Young Ladies in the chorus line of the revue Follow the Sun.
Cochran’s shows were extravaganzas which were known for their glamour. Sarah was soon having the time of her life, high-kicking across the stage in a very short skirt and frilly knickers. Then she fell in love with the star of the show, the Austrian-American comedian Vic Oliver. Winston and Clementine did not approve of her relationship with this much older, divorced man.When they tried to deter her, Sarah eloped to America. The press had a field day, as she sailed across the Atlantic in one cruise ship pursued by her brother Randolph on a second liner.
Once she arrived in New York, Sarah held her first press conference, which went so well it turned her into a celebrity overnight. Against her parents wishes, she marriedVic on Christmas Eve 1936.
After the wedding,Winston and Clementine loved Sarah too much to bear grudges and so they put the past behind them. Clementine explained: “I think of you a great deal often in pain but always I retain confidence in your character and hope for your happiness.”
The marriage did not last and, during the war, the couple separated. Although Winston, by now Prime Minister, tolerated his son-inlaw, he had never liked him.
When he heard the news, he asked his rebellious daughter: “I hope he is going to be a gen
tleman and give you a divorce”. Sarah answered, “Of course not. I am leaving him.” Her father then replied: “You cheeky b **** – I wouldn’t let you leave me!”
This robust repartee reflected their relationship. Winston would never have used such strong language with his other daughters. He knew Sarah was strong enough to take it and both father and daughter turned everything into a joke.
Throughout her life Sarah attracted attention, though not always for the right reasons.
After the war she had a successful acting career in America. She appeared in a Hollywood film, Royal Wedding, with her childhood idol, Fred Astaire, acted on Broadway and became a television star. However, her private life was always more problematic and after a series of tragedies she turned to drink to deaden the pain.
At this time, being in the public eye became a curse. While living in Malibu in 1958, she was arrested and charged for being drunk.
She was photographed being restrained by several officers, looking vulnerable and dishevelled. These pictures appeared in newspapers across the world, causing great distress to both Sarah and her parents. Over the next few years there were frequent stories about Sarah’s drunken exploits which led to court appearances. Eventually, in 1961, while in Britain, Sarah was remanded in custody for a medical report and sent to the hospital section of Holloway Prison for ten days. It was a far cry from the glamorous lifestyle she had led in Hollywood, but with characteristic resilience, she bounced back. In the next phase of her life, she lived la dolce vita in Italy, inevitably, becoming one of the celebrities pursued by paparazzi photographers.
Her younger sister Mary’s life could not have been more different. She was always the most stable of Winston and Clementine’s children. She got the balance right in her public and private life. At first, she found it hard to deal with the publicity she attracted, but she learnt how to use it to her advantage.
Determined to do her duty during the Second World War, she signed up as a “gunner girl” in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. The press was interested in anything the PM’s daughters did so photographers came to her camp to take pictures of her parading, drinking tea and emptying dustbins.
SHE regarded such publicity as “persecution”, and wanted to be treated like everyone else. However, senior officers persuaded her it was good for recruitment. They were right, as there was then an upward trend in ATS applications.
Decades later, Mary once again used her famous name for good. When her husband Christopher Soames became Britain’s last governor of Rhodesia, she used the attention she attracted to promote children’s charities. From first to last, Mary lived her life in the public eye, but she never put a foot wrong.
One of the final times the spotlight focused on her came in 2005, nine years before her death, when the Queen appointed her a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter. She became part of an elite group that included former prime ministers, dukes and generals. Winston had been a Knight of the Garter, and so when Mary was appointed, the Churchills became the first non-royal father and daughter ever to hold the honour.
Looking regal in a midnight blue velvet mantle, displaying the heraldic shield of St George’s cross encircled by the Garter, Mary walked in the prestigious procession from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel for the service of thanksgiving for the oldest order of chivalry in the country.
Beneath the black velvet hat, her bright blue eyes twinkled with warmth and sense of humour, which were part of her Churchillian charm. It was a fitting finale for the last survivor of Winston’s four daughters, who had lived so close to the centre of power.
‘Diana, Sarah and Mary became among the most famous young women in Britain’