Nationality British | Name Viola Duchess | |
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Born Viola Maud Lyttelton10 June 1912 ( 1912-06-10 ) Residence Eaton Hall, CheshireEly Lodge, Enniskillen Spouse(s) Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster(m. 1946) Issue Lady Leonora GrosvenorGerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of WestminsterLady Jane Grosvenor Died May 3, 1987, County Tyrone Children Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster Grandchildren Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor Similar Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster | ||
Viola Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster (10 June 1912 – 3 May 1987) was the wife of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster.
Born Viola Maud Lyttelton, she was the daughter of Sir John Cavendish Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham and Violet Yolande Leonard.
She married Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, son of Captain Hugh William Grosvenor and Lady Mabel Florence Mary Crichton, on 3 December 1946. The family had a home at Ely Lodge, just west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
As the Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton she gained the rank of Flying Officer in the service of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, during the Second World War, where she was mentioned in despatches.
Her marriage to the Duke of Westminster produced three children:
From 1979 until her death in 1987 she was Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh. She famously ordered workmen to drill holes in the ceiling of Florence Court, the stately home in County Fermanagh, to drain water away during a serious fire which almost destroyed it in 1955.
The Duchess died in a car accident near Dungannon, County Tyrone on 3 May 1987, aged 74.