365:, whose synopsis states that "Whilst their sisters Elizabeth and Anne enjoyed lives of privilege and inclusion in the upper echelons of the aristocracy, Katherine and Nerissa were all but forgotten, written out of family history." By telling the story of the individuals, and using the testimony of those who had lived alongside them in the asylum, the film hoped to contextualise "the changing attitudes to learning disability in British society over the twentieth century."
1015:
106:
153:
277:). Nurses interviewed on the documentary said that, to their knowledge, the family never sent the sisters a birthday or Christmas gift or card. When Nerissa died in 1986, none of her family attended the funeral. She was buried at the nearby Redstone Cemetery, Earlswood. Her grave was marked with plastic tags and a serial number until her existence was revealed in the media, after which the family added a gravestone.
44:
378:, party planner to the Queen and the sisters' niece, responded at length, disputing both the assertions by the programme-makers of familial abandonment and the methods of "this supposedly factual documentary". She called it "cruel" and "intrusive" and said that "far from being a taboo subject, Katherine and Nerissa were very much a part of the family as sisters of Shakerley's mother, the late
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991:
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wrote that "All we learned was just common knowledge." Crace observed that it was
Nerissa's death in 1986 which had sparked the tabloid interest in the story the following year. He also commented on the absence of any attempt to find out why the sisters had been placed in care in 1941, writing "this
307:
Three mentally disabled cousins of the girls also lived in
Earlswood Hospital. Harriet Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1887â1958), sister of Nerissa and Katherine's mother Fenella, married Major Henry Nevile Fane, and three of their seven children lived in Earlswood Hospital. David Danks, then
238:", and neither learned to talk. Nerissa died in 1986, aged 66, with only hospital staff attending the funeral, while Katherine died in 2014, aged 87. The sisters received no money from the family other than ÂŖ125 paid to Earlswood each year. Earlswood closed in 1997.
316:
in the
Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis family may have killed male members of the family in early childhood and caused learning disabilities in females. In 1996, the surviving cousins were moved to Ketwin House
269:"throughout their time at the hospital, there is no known record that the sisters were ever visited by any member of the Bowes-Lyon or royal families, despite their aunt, the Queen Mother, being a Patron of
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objected to the match on the grounds of "mad blood", as one of her grandmothers was a
Trefusis, and the engagement was broken off.
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Sources from within the family, however, report that their mother
Fenella often visited the two sisters until her death in 1966;
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288:, upon discovering that her nieces were alive in 1982, sent money for toys and sweets on their birthdays and at Christmas.
953:
426:, "The Hereditary Principle", which premiered in 2020. However, the way the events are reported is largely fictitious.
1040:
981:
199:
Nerissa Bowes-Lyon was born on 18 February 1919 and
Katherine Bowes-Lyon was born on 4 July 1926, the daughters of
719:"The Crown fact-check: Did the Queen and Margaret really have two secret cousins with developmental disabilities?"
258:
included specific dates of death for both sisters. According to a 2011 television documentary about the sisters,
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listed
Nerissa and Katherine as having died in 1940 and 1961 respectively; but in 1987 it was revealed by
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in 1987, who claimed that his aunt
Fenella (the mother of the two women) had completed the form for
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563:"Neglected, hidden away, registered dead: the tragic true story of the Queen's disabled cousins"
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for mentally disabled people in 1941. In the terminology of the era, both were classified as "
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781:"Behind The Crown: The true story of the Queen's cousins, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon"
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described the documentary as "sad but revealing". Following the programme's broadcast,
361:. The documentary was directed by Kelly Close and made by Minnow Films, an independent
1029:
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247:
17:
740:"The Queen is 'hurt' by Channel 4 programme about her mentally handicapped cousins"
392:
321:
in Surrey. When it closed in 2001, they were moved to another care home in Surrey.
211:, the future Queen Elizabeth II's mother. Their mother was the younger daughter of
171:
and his wife
Fenella (nÊe Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis). John was the brother of
868:"Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner review â a bestselling glimpse of the royals"
723:
498:
Descendancy for BOWES-LYON Claude George, 14th Earl of
Strathmore & Kinghorn
470:
354:
328:
318:
263:
203:
and Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis. Their father, the second son of
299:, and Katherine Somervell) organised the headstone for Nerissa Bowes-Lyon.
599:"Who were the Queen's 'hidden cousins', Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon?"
520:
The History and Theory of Children's Citizenship in Contemporary Societies
235:
954:"TV review: The Queen's Hidden Cousins; Waking Up To Insomnia; Symphony"
417:
270:
142:
404:
was the one part of the story that was genuinely still a mystery."
374:
reported that the Queen was said to be "hugely distressed" by it.
151:
834:
Hastings, Chris; Bamber, David; Berry, Jessica (13 August 2000).
167:(4 July 1926 â 23 February 2014) were two of the daughters of
254:
incorrectly due to Fenella being "a vague person"; however,
175:, thus his two daughters were the maternal first cousins of
213:
Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
811:
Bowes-Lyon Retardation Gene May Have Killed Males
412:
The sisters were depicted in the seventh episode of the
246:
Suggestions of a cover-up were rejected in the press by
205:
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
189:
Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
185:
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
760:
The History of the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
507:
at Family History UK Trees, retrieved 14 November 2011.
979:
704:", at hollywoodtoday.net, retrieved 14 November 2011.
230:
that the sisters were alive, and had been placed in
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50:
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436:Thomas Lyon-Bowes, Master of Glamis (born 1821)
1066:British royalty and nobility with disabilities
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556:
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291:The three grandchildren of Fenella and John (
8:
836:"Queen's cousin in 'sub-standard' care home"
717:Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (15 November 2020).
634:Royal Nieces Cover-up Denied By Lord Clinton
898:"Minnow Films | The Queen's Hidden Cousins"
460:
458:
456:
357:broadcast a documentary about the sisters,
561:Goldsbrough, Susannah (12 November 2020).
104:
93:
42:
31:
523:. Springer Science & Business Media.
163:(18 February 1919 â 22 January 1986) and
986:
592:
590:
452:
335:, later the Earl Spencer and father to
769:" website, retrieved 14 November 2011.
848:from the original on 14 November 2020
611:from the original on 13 November 2020
575:from the original on 14 November 2020
310:Murdoch Children's Research Institute
7:
1051:Royal scandals in the United Kingdom
927:Douglas, Hilary (13 November 2011).
712:
710:
665:, Publisher HarperCollins UK, 2010,
183:, sharing one pair of grandparents,
1056:People with intellectual disability
27:First cousins of Queen Elizabeth II
964:from the original on 19 April 2021
908:from the original on 11 April 2021
878:from the original on 17 April 2021
25:
791:from the original on 4 March 2021
597:Young, Sarah (13 November 2020).
325:Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner
1013:
1001:
989:
738:Walker, Tim (25 November 2011).
537:from the original on 21 May 2022
327:was, as a young woman and 1950s
286:Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
173:Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
156:Royal Earlswood Hospital c. 1854
779:Coke, Hope (19 November 2020).
517:Milne, Brian (15 April 2013).
346:
1:
929:"Queen's fury over C4 'lies'"
273:" (a charity for people with
161:Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes-Lyon
466:"The Queen's Hidden Cousins"
368:Prior to the screening, the
1036:20th-century British people
165:Katherine Juliet Bowes-Lyon
1087:
1071:20th-century British women
359:The Queen's Hidden Cousins
348:The Queen's Hidden Cousins
260:The Queen's Hidden Cousins
765:11 September 2011 at the
333:Johnnie, Viscount Althorp
209:Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
103:
41:
380:Princess Anne of Denmark
376:Lady Elizabeth Shakerley
337:Diana, Princess of Wales
331:of the year, engaged to
293:Lady Elizabeth Shakerley
282:Lady Elizabeth Shakerley
81:Royal Earlswood Hospital
700:27 October 2010 at the
503:20 October 2020 at the
201:John Herbert Bowes-Lyon
169:John Herbert Bowes-Lyon
157:
902:www.minnowfilms.co.uk
816:27 April 2022 at the
639:27 April 2022 at the
297:5th Earl of Lichfield
275:learning disabilities
155:
960:. 17 November 2011.
695:Books: The Debutante
303:Other family members
218:The 1963 edition of
98:Katherine Bowes-Lyon
18:Katherine Bowes-Lyon
874:. 7 December 2019.
841:The Daily Telegraph
745:The Daily Telegraph
680:13 May 2022 at the
568:The Daily Telegraph
387:The Daily Telegraph
207:, was a brother of
661:Kathleen Tessaro,
646:The Glasgow Herald
408:In popular culture
363:production company
353:In November 2011,
232:Earlswood Hospital
177:Queen Elizabeth II
158:
36:Nerissa Bowes-Lyon
1041:Bowes-Lyon family
671:978-0-00-736601-9
530:978-94-007-6521-4
312:, thought that a
181:Princess Margaret
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137:(2014-02-23)
75:(1986-01-22)
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1061:Mute people
1046:Sister duos
852:14 November
724:Radio Times
615:14 November
579:14 November
482:14 November
242:Controversy
123:4 July 1926
1030:Categories
541:1 December
447:References
401:John Crace
341:his father
195:Background
119:1926-07-04
57:1919-02-18
996:Biography
471:Channel 4
423:The Crown
399:reviewer
355:Channel 4
329:debutante
319:care home
264:Channel 4
236:imbeciles
145:, England
87:, England
968:11 April
962:Archived
912:11 April
906:Archived
882:17 April
876:Archived
846:Archived
814:Archived
795:15 March
789:Archived
763:Archived
698:Archived
678:Archived
637:Archived
609:Archived
573:Archived
535:Archived
501:Archived
430:See also
1008:History
982:Portals
822:The Age
418:Netflix
416:of the
256:Burke's
252:Burke's
227:The Sun
126:England
85:Redhill
64:England
938:13 May
785:Tatler
669:
527:
397:'s
295:, the
271:Mencap
187:, and
143:Surrey
970:2021
940:2024
914:2021
884:2021
854:2020
797:2021
667:ISBN
617:2020
581:2020
543:2020
525:ISBN
484:2020
179:and
132:Died
113:Born
70:Died
51:Born
820:",
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382:."
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