Lady Ursula Isabel d'Abo (née Manners, formerly Marreco; 8 November 1916 – 2 November 2017) was an English socialite and aristocrat who served as a maid of honour to the Queen at the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. She received international media attention after a photograph of her from the coronation, standing alongside the British royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, circulated in the news. The reports, focused on her beauty and distinctive widow's peak, led to a famous letter being written to the editor of a newspaper by an American, asking "who is the girl with the widow's peak?", which was later paraphrased as the title of her 2014 memoir, The Girl with the Widow's Peak: The Memoirs. Her comparative youth and beauty to the rest of her travelling company lead to her being nicknamed "the cygnet" by Winston Churchill while she accompanied the king and queen on a royal tour in France in 1938.
During World War II Lady Ursula worked as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment before being appointed to a managerial position over 2,000 women employees at the British Manufacture and Research Company's munitions factory in Grantham. In her later life she received attention for her brief relationship with Man Singh II and her long-term affair with J. Paul Getty.
Early life
Lady Ursula Isabel Manners was born in London on 8 November 1916 to John Manners, Marquess of Granby and Kathleen Tennant. She was the eldest of five children. Her father was the second son and eventual heir of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland and Violet Lindsay. After the death of her grandfather, her father became the 9th Duke of Rutland. Her mother was the niece of British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and a granddaughter of Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet. She was a paternal niece of Diana Cooper, Viscountess Norwich and Marjorie Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey.
Lady Ursula first lived at Wood House, a small farmhouse in Derbyshire, and at a residence in London. She spent a lot of time at the family estates, Haddon Hall and Belvoir Castle, the latter of which she moved to once her father inherited the dukedom in 1925. When she was eight years old she helped her father with the restoration at Haddon Hall, where she discovered medieval frescoes of Saint Christopher in the chapel which had been whitewashed over during the English Reformation.
In her youth, she was a friend of Prince Edward of Wales and a playmate of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of York at Bognor.
C. E. Brock painted a portrait of Lady Ursula with two of her siblings, Charles and Isabel, when the three were children.
She trained in ballet, taking lessons from Tamara Karsavina, a former principal dancer with the Imperial Russian Ballet. She was educated by governesses in mathematics, French, Latin, swimming, piano, sewing, cooking, and riding. As a teenager Lady Ursula and her sister, Isabel, were sent to France with their governess. After living in Paris, Lady Ursula was sent to finishing school at the Villa Malatesta in Florence, Italy where she studied Italian, art, and architecture.
In 1934, at the age of seventeen, she and her sister had a coming out ball hosted in their honour at Belvoir. Soon after, she was presented at court to George V and Mary of Teck. As the daughter of a duke, she took part in local charitable organisations and events alongside her parents.
In February 1936 English artist Cuthbert Bradley painted a watercolour and gouache portrait of Lady Ursula in a hunting scene, titled Lady Ursula Manners.
Lady Ursula was a childhood friend of Rex Whistler and corresponded with him in early adulthood until he was killed in combat during World War II.
Adulthood
Coronation and official duties
In 1937 Lady Ursula served as one of six maids of honour to Queen Elizabeth during her and King George VI's coronation at Westminster Abbey. Lady Ursula, along with the other maids of honour, was dressed in a white gown designed by Norman Hartnell, the royal dressmaker to the Queen. She was photographed alongside the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the ceremony and received international media attention when observers noted her attractiveness and distinctive widow's peak. Later that year she was photographed by Cecil Beaton.
On 19 July 1938 Lady Ursula accompanied the King and the Queen on their first official visit to Paris. She was nicknamed "the cygnet" by Sir Winston Churchill.