Margaret Wright "Peggy" de Crussol, Duchess d'Uzès (née Bedford, formerly Bancroft and d'Arenberg) (October 18, 1932 – October 16, 1977) was an American‐born oil heiress who married three times, first to an American textile and banking heir, second to a Duke of Arenberg, and third to the premier Duke of France.
Early life
Margaret, who was known as Peggy to her friends, was born in New York City on October 18, 1932. She was the only child of Frederick Henry Bedford Jr. and Margaret Wright (née Stewart) Bedford. Her father was a director of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (today known as Exxon). She grew up between her family's estate in Greens Farms, Connecticut and their apartment in the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan.
Her paternal grandparents were Jane (née Dingee) Bedford and Frederick Henry Bedford Sr. (a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey from 1911 to 1926). Her maternal grandparents were William Lincoln Stewart and Edna (née Wright) Stewart.
Peggy attended the Chapin School in New York City followed by Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. In 1950, she was presented to society at a dance given by her parents at the Creek Club in Locust Valley, as well as at a Junior League ball.
Personal life
On April 15, 1951, she was married to Thomas Moore Bancroft Jr. (1930–2019), at St. James' Episcopal Church in Manhattan with a reception in the ballroom of the Colony Club. Thomas, a graduate of the Middlesex School and Princeton University, was the son of Edith W. Bancroft and Thomas M. Bancroft Sr. His maternal grandfather was banker William Woodward Sr. and his uncle was William Woodward Jr. A textile executive, he served as president of Mount Vernon Mills, and raised and raced thoroughbred horses with his brother. After their marriage, they bought a duplex apartment on the 15th and 16th floors of 740 Park Avenue where Peggy lavishly entertained. Before their divorce in Alabama in May 1960, they were the parents of:
Margaret "Muffie" Woodward Stewart Bancroft (b. 1952), who married Charles Minot Amory Jr. in 1971. They divorced and she later married W. Stephen Murray.
After their divorce, Bancroft remarried two more times, secondly to Melissa Weston, and thirdly to Barbara (née Symmers) Wiedemann (former wife of George Stanhope Wiedemann III) in 1977.
Second marriage
On December 29, 1960, she was married to Prince Charles Auguste Armand d'Arenberg (1905–1967) in a quiet ceremony in Massachusetts. Charles, a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire who was 27 years her senior, was the son of Prince Charles Louis Pierre d'Arenberg and Antoinette Hélène Emma Louise de Gramont de Lesparre, and grandson (and heir) of Prince Auguste Louis Albéric d'Arenberg ,2nd (French) Duke of Arenberg. After the marriage, she was known as Her Serene Highness, Princess d'Arenberg, Duchess of Arenberg and they lived at the d'Arenberg residence in Paris and Peggy again became a popular hostess. Together, they were the parents of:
Prince Pierre Frederick Henri d'Arenberg (b. 1961), 4th (French) Duke of Arenberg, twice married, three daughters
In Fall 1966, after five years of marriage, Peggy filed for divorce from Prince Charles, who counter-sued charging Peggy with adultery and claiming she had four lovers. During the divorce, she continued to live in the same residence as him. After informing the press that she wouldn't be in New York for the season because she was fighting the custody charges, she made an exception to attend Truman Capote's famous Black and White Ball in November. Her husband died, unexpectedly, in June 1967, at the age of 62. Peggy proclaimed the couple had reconciled and the divorce had been called off shortly before he died. The Prince's family gave her a generous allowance and guaranteed her son's inheritance rights under the condition she immediately leave the d’Arenberg residence, which she did.