The HonourableElizabeth Susan Varley (néeDouglas-Scott-Montagu; 26 September 1909 – 6 May 2002) was an English actress and the daughter ofJohn Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu. She pursued careers in the entertainment industry, literature and advertising.

The Honourable Elizabeth Varley
Varley in 1930
Born	Elizabeth Susan Douglas-Scott-Montagu (1909-09-26)26 September 1909 Beaulieu Abbey,Hampshire,England
Died	6 May 2002(2002-05-06) (aged 92)
Education	St. Margaret's School, Bushey Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1948
Spouse	Arthur Noel Claude Varley
Parent(s)	John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu Lady Cecil Kerr

Elizabeth Montagu was born atBeaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, on 26 September 1909, the second daughter of theJohn Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu by his first wife Lady Cecil Kerr, the daughter ofSchomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian. She was a direct descendant ofCharles II andLucy Walter, through their son,James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. Her mother died in the1918 flu pandemic. Montagu attendedSt Margaret's School, Bushey and a finishing school at Lausanne, but she was not interested in society life and chose instead to train as an actress at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1932.^[1]

Varley began an acting career at the Newcastle Repertory Company and appeared in severalWest End stage productions and onBBC Radio dramas. She was personal assistant toArturo Toscanini while he was in London to conduct at the BBC's London Music Festivals in 1937–1938. She helpedWalter Legge found thePhilharmonia Orchestra. After the war, she worked on film scripts for directors such asAlexander Korda.^[1]

In 1948 Montagu metGraham Greene in Vienna. She showed him (and laterOrson Welles) some of its less reputable night clubs, while he worked on the script forThe Third Man. She introduced Greene toPeter Smolka, the eastern European correspondent forThe Times. Smolka gave Greene stories about the black market in Vienna.^[2] She was a committee member ofBenjamin Britten's English Opera Group; she also wrote libretti forRolf Liebermann andPaul Burkhard.^[1]

She travelled extensively through Europe in 1935–1939, and studied at a piano school in Switzerland. When asked about her racial background while applying for a visa at the German consulate inSt. Gallen, she angrily swept items – including a portrait ofHitler – from the desktop onto the floor. Her passport was confiscated.^[1]

Montagu was sent to France at the start of the Second World War as an ambulance driver. After her unit retreated to Bordeaux, she refused to leave and hid at a friend's home for several months. On a train to Switzerland she noticed she was under surveillance, and so asked two hat salesmen for help at the next station. She escaped while hidden under the boxes in their car.^[1]

While working at thePolitical Intelligence Department at the British Embassy in Berne, Montagu translated material from within Germany, including information on what was happening atTreblinka extermination camp.^[1]

In the 1960s she co-founded Francis-Montagu, a company that produced television advertising. Its clients includedRyvita and Black Magic chocolates.^[1]

Montagu's times in theatrical digs had created strong socialist leanings. She became involved in the women's committee of theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament.^[1]

Having been the lover of the classical pianistRenata Borgatti (1894–1964), she became the fourth wife on 29 August 1962 of Colonel Arthur Noel Claude Varley CBE (mil., 1902–1985), founder of the advertising agency Colman, Prentis and Varley.^[1] There were no children of the marriage.

She wrote an autobiography,Honourable Rebel: The Memoirs of Elizabeth Montagu (later Elizabeth Varley) (Beaulieu: Montagu Ventures, 2003),ISBN 0952338610. A film of her life,Honourable Rebel, appeared in 2015.^[3]

• National Portrait Gallery