- Henry Cust
Henry (Harry) John Cockayne-Cust (October 10 1861 – March 2 1917) was an English journalist and poet, and a
Member of Parliament for theUnionist Party (i.e. Conservative Party), for Stamford, Lincolnshire 1890-1895, and for Bermondsey, 1900-1906.He was born to Sara Jane Cookson and Henry Francis Cockayne-Cust, [ [http://www.wargs.com/noble/cust.html Ancestry of Harry Cust ] ] and was educated at
Eton College andTrinity College, Cambridge , and then was called to the Bar. He edited the "Pall Mall Gazette " from 1892 to 1896.Cust was one of
The Souls , and attached toPamela Wyndham (who later married Edward Tennant). Others in the clique wereMargot Asquith ,Arthur Balfour , George Curzon,Alfred Lyttelton ,Godfrey Webb , andGeorge Wyndham . He had a reputation as a womaniser, and was the reputed natural father of socialite and philanthropistLady Diana Cooper , by the Duchess of Rutland. Cust has been rumoured to be the natural father of Beatrice Stephenson Roberts, the mother of British prime ministerMargaret Thatcher but there is no real evidence for this (although it amused Lady Diana Cooper to refer to Mrs. Thatcher as her niece). [John Campbell "The Grocer's Daughter"] .As the result of a purported pregnancy, he married in 1893 Emmeline Mary Elizabeth Welby-Gregory (1867 - 1955), known as Nina, who was the daughter of
Victoria, Lady Welby . The pregnancy was either false or a misrepresentation, and the couple, whose marriage was thereafter contentious, did not have any children. Nina Cust was a translator and editor of her mother's papers. She and her husband are buried together inBelton, Lincolnshire , with a monument designed by her.During
World War I Cust was active inpropaganda on behalf of theBritish Government .Footnotes
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