Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
Frances Evelyn "
Daisy"
Greville, Countess of Warwick (''née''
Maynard; 10 December 1861 – 26 July 1938) was a British
socialite and
philanthropist. Although embedded in late-
Victorian British
high society, she was also a campaigning socialist, supporting many schemes to aid the less well-off in education, housing, employment, and pay, and was often known as the "Red Countess". She established colleges for the education of women in
agriculture and
market gardening, first in
Reading, then in
Studley. She established a
needlework school and employment scheme in Essex as well as using her ancestral homes to host events and schemes for the benefit of her tenants and workers. Greville was a long-term confidant or
mistress to the Prince of Wales, who later became King
Edward VII.
She was said to be referenced in the popular music hall song "
Daisy, Daisy", owing to her rather unorthodox conduct.
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