The marriage of Lilian Chetwynd to her first cousin the 5th Marquess of Anglesey was not a success. Initially, the press reported the movements of the couple around the UK and Europe, but gradually the social reports were about her alone.
In 1900 she petitioned for a divorce, which was granted.
But she applied to the Court to have the order rescinded prior to the decree becoming absolute.
While she does not appear to have co-habitated with her husband, it was reported that she was with him when he died.
What financial settlements were made on her or what happened to the gifts given to her on her marriage are unknown, but she continued to lead a social life.
In 1909 she decided to remarry - to John Gilliatt - and, contrary to contemporary custom, she relinquished use of the title Marchioness.
The above report, stating that her friends had clubbed together to give her a tiara, might suggest that, in light of her new marriage, she no longer wished to wear jewels acquired through her first marriage, an entirely understandable situation.
As Mrs John Gilliatt she featured regularly in the press and was photographed, although usually in day clothes at the races etc.
But back to tiaras.
For the Children's Jewel Fund, a charity collection and auction in 1918 she donated a diamond tiara.
closer view
It seems that this was not Lilian's only tiara at the time, as when her daughter married Sir Richard Sykes in 1942 she wore an intricate, yet delicate, tiara. The style of this jewel reminds me of the delicate tiaras Lilian was photographed wearing in the early years of her first marriage, but whether it was given to her by the 5th Marquess is unknown.
Detail