Marchioness of Hartington | |
|---|---|
 Kennedy in 1944, when she was a member of theAmerican Red Cross stationed in England | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920-02-20)February 20, 1920 Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 13, 1948(1948-05-13) (aged 28) |
| Cause of death | Airplane crash |
| Resting place | St Peter's Church, Edensor, Derbyshire, England |
| Spouse | |
| Parent(s) | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Rose Fitzgerald |
| Relatives | Kennedy family (by birth) Cavendish family (by marriage) |
| Education | Riverdale Country School Noroton Convent of the Sacred Heart Holy Child Convent |
| Alma mater | Queen's College, London Finch School Florida Commercial College |
Kathleen Agnes Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (née Kennedy; February 20, 1920 – May 13, 1948), also known as "Kick"Kennedy,[1][2] was an Americansocialite. She was the second daughter ofJoseph P. Kennedy Sr. andRose Fitzgerald, a sister of U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy and SenatorsRobert F. Kennedy andTed Kennedy, and the wife of theMarquess of Hartington, heir apparent to the10th Duke of Devonshire.
When her father was serving asU.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Kathleen made many friends in London and was the "debutante of 1938".[3] Working with theRed Cross, she began a romantic relationship with Lord Hartington, whom she married in May 1944. He was killed on active service in Belgium only four months later. Kathleen died in a plane crash in 1948, flying to the south of France while on vacation with her new partner, the8th Earl Fitzwilliam.
Kennedy was born on February 20, 1920,at home inBrookline, Massachusetts, the fourth child and second daughter ofJoseph P. Kennedy Sr. andRose Fitzgerald. She was nicknamed "Kick" because of her "irrepressible nature". Kennedy was especially close to her older brother,John F. Kennedy, known as "Jack". Her other siblings wereJoseph Jr.,Rosemary,Eunice,Patricia,Robert,Jean andTed.
Kennedy was educated atRiverdale Country School in theRiverdale section ofthe Bronx, New York City.[4] She also attended Noroton Convent of the Sacred Heart inNoroton, Connecticut, and the Holy Child Convent inNeuilly, France.[5] While the Kennedy daughters were not raised to pursue political ambitions like their brothers, they were provided with many of the same educational and social opportunities, owing to their father's powerful financial and political connections and influence. This was particularly the case when PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt appointed Joseph asUnited States ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1938.
As a child, Kennedy was very athletic and playedfootball with her brothers. An account cited that this stemmed from the ethos of competition that her father instilled on the young children. They were split into teams and would compete in sports at thefamily compound inHyannis Port, Massachusetts.[6] Her optimism and high spirits attracted many suitors, some of whom were Jack's closest friends. Eventually Kennedy started to date and had her first serious relationship withW. R. Grace and Company heirJ. Peter Grace.[citation needed]
Kathleen's time in Britain during her father's term as Ambassador dramatically influenced the remainder of her life. While living in England, she was educated in London atQueen's College and quickly cultivated a wide circle of friends, both male and female, in Britishhigh society. She datedDavid Rockefeller and was declared the "debutante of 1938" by the English media when she made her debut at theQueen Charlotte's Ball.[citation needed]
Following the Germaninvasion of Poland and the outbreak ofWorld War II in September 1939, Kick, who was staying at the family home in the south of France, had to rush to England with her friend Janey Kenyon Slaney. The Kennedy family, to save Joseph and daughterRosemary, returned to the United States. Kathleen, having become very fond of England and the many friends she had made during her two years there, petitioned her parents to remain in London despite the coming danger. However, she was overruled by her father, and sailed back home in the early fall of 1939.[citation needed]
After returning to the U.S., Kennedy enrolled at theFinch School for a time, and then attended Florida Commercial College. In addition to her studies, she also began volunteering work for theAmerican Red Cross. In 1941, she decided to leave school, and began working as a research assistant for Frank Waldrop, the executive editor for theWashington Times-Herald. She later teamed withInga Arvad, who wrote the "Did You Happen to See....." column, and was eventually given her own column where she reviewed films and plays.[5]
In 1943, seeking a way to return to England, Kathleen signed up to work in a center for servicemen set up by the Red Cross. During her time in England, both before and particularly during the war, she grew increasingly more independent from her family and theRoman Catholic Church to which they belonged. During this time, Kennedy began a romantic relationship with politicianWilliam Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (usually known to his family and friends as Billy Hartington). He was the eldest son andheir apparent of the10th Duke of Devonshire.[citation needed]
The two had met and begun a friendship when she moved to England when her father was appointed American Ambassador. Despite objections from her mother, Kennedy and Lord Hartington reunited upon her return to England.[7] Rose especially rejected their relationship because she saw that their marriage would break the laws of the Roman Catholic Church by allowing Kathleen's children to be raised in theChurch of England rather than the Roman Catholic Church. Rose even tried to manipulate their relationship by keeping Kathleen away from Hartington and postponing a possible wedding. Regardless, Kathleen married Hartington on May 6, 1944, in a civil ceremony at theCaxton HallRegister Office.[8][9][10] Kathleen's eldest brotherJoseph P. Kennedy Jr., an officer in theU.S. Navy, to whom she had grown close during the last year of his life, as he was serving in Britain, was the only member of the family to attend the ceremony. Her second eldest brother, John, was still hospitalized due to a back injury incurred on themotor torpedo patrol boatPT-109 in theSouth Pacific Ocean, and younger brotherRobert F. Kennedy was in naval training. Three months later on August 12, Joe Jr. was killed when his plane exploded over theEnglish Channel during atop-secret bombing mission to Europe.[9]
Kathleen, nowMarchioness of Hartington, and Lord Hartington spent less than five weeks together before he went off to fight in France. Four months after their marriage, and less than a month after Joe Jr. was killed, Hartington was killed by a sniper during a battle with the Germans inBelgium. With his family's blessing, he was buried close to where he fell. His younger brotherLord Andrew Cavendish, who was married toDeborah Mitford, youngest of theMitford sisters, thus became theheir apparent to the dukedom, as Billy Hartington had left no heir. From then on she was styled as Kathleen, Dowager Marchioness of Hartington.[citation needed]
Popular on the London social circuit and admired by many for her high spirits and wit, Lady Hartington eventually became romantically involved with the8th Earl Fitzwilliam,[11] who was in the process of divorcing his wife. Once again, Rose Kennedy expressed her disapproval of her daughter's suitor and warned Kathleen that she would be disowned and cut off financially if she married Lord Fitzwilliam. In May 1948, Kathleen learned that her father would be traveling to Paris. In an effort to gain his consent for her upcoming plans to marry Fitzwilliam, she decided to fly to Paris to meet with her father.[12]
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On May 13, 1948, Lady Hartington and Lord Fitzwilliam were flying from Paris to theFrench Riviera for a vacation[13] aboard ade Havilland DH.104 Dove.[14] At 3:30 in the afternoon, their plane took off, reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Approximately one hour into the flight, radio contact was lost with the plane when it entered the region near Vienne,[clarification needed] which was also close to the center of a storm. The plane's four occupants endured twenty minutes of severe turbulence which bounced their small plane up and down as much as several thousand feet at a time.
When they finally cleared the clouds, they instantly discovered the plane was in a dive and moments away from impact, and they attempted to pull up. The stress of the turbulence, coupled with the sudden change of direction, tore loose one of the wings, followed by both engines, and finally the tail. The plane'sfuselage then spun into the ground seconds later, coming to rest nose-down in a ravine, after striking terrain at Plateau du Coiron, nearSaint-Bauzile, Ardèche, France. Lady Hartington was instantly killed, along with Fitzwilliam, the pilot Peter Townshend and the navigator Arthur Freeman.
She was buried on the Cavendish family burial grounds atSt Peter's Churchyard, Edensor outside ofChatsworth, Derbyshire, England. Her father was the only family member to attend the funeral, arranged by the Devonshires. Rose Kennedy had refused to attend her daughter's funeral, instead entering a hospital for medical reasons.[12] Her brother Jack, was too devastated and he couldn’t bring himself to go to the funeral as a result.
The Kennedy Debutante, a novelization of Kennedy's life, was published byBerkley Books in 2018. Written by Kerri Maher, it was well received, including being named a "Best Book of the Week" by theNew York Post.[15][16][17]
Kathleen Kennedy is portrayed byDarleen Carr in the 1977 TV movieYoung Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy, byTracy Pollan in the 1990 TV miniseriesThe Kennedys of Massachusetts, and byRobin Tunney in the 1993 TV miniseriesJFK: Reckless Youth.
November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968 | ||
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February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009 | ||
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