Margaretta Finch-Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea


Margaretta Armstrong Finch-Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham was an American heiress who married into the English aristocracy.

Early life

Margaretta was born in 1885 into a wealthy Philadelphia banking dynasty. She was the daughter of Margarita Drexel and Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. Her brothers Anthony Joseph Drexel III and John Armstrong Drexel were also bankers. In 1917, her parents divorced and, the following her, her mother married Brinsley FitzGerald in 1918.
Her paternal grandparents were Anthony Joseph Drexel and Ellen Drexel and her maternal grandfather was John Armstrong of the Baltimore Armstrongs.
Margaretta was presented at court in 1908 by Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, the Duchess of Connaught. Reportedly, after her presentation at court, she "at once attained great popularity in London society. Her modesty and simple, easy manners, attracted everyone. Among her reported suitors were Prince Christopher, sixth son of King George of Greece; Prince Francis of Teck; and Prince Francis Joseph, second son of the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, whose eldest son Prince Miguel, had married her cousin, Miss Anita Stewart."

Personal life

On 8 June 1910, Margaretta was married to Guy Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone by the Bishop of London at St Margaret's, Westminster by the Bishop of London. The reception was held at the Drexel home in Grosvenor Square. He was the son of Henry Finch-Hatton and the former Anne Jane Codrington. His two siblings were Gladys Margaret Finch-Hatton and Denys Finch Hatton, a noted big-game hunter. Together, Guy and Margaretta were the parents of three children:
In 1927, upon the death of his father, her husband became the 14th Earl of Winchilsea and 9th Earl of Nottingham, and Margaretta became known as the Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham.
Lord Winchilsea died in London on 10 February 1939, and was buried at Ewerby in Lincolnshire. Lady Winchilsea died in London in 1952.