Dorothea Macnee

Dorothea Mabel Macnee , BEM (née Henry) (30 Oct 1896 – 29 Nov 1984) was a British socialite during the inter war years. Her wide circle included many prominent people in entertainment and the arts, several of whom were introduced to her alternative lifestyle in the Berkshire house where she lived with her lesbian partner. After World War II she was involved in the Women’s Voluntary Service, receiving the British Empire Medal for her services. She had two sons, one of whom was Patrick Macnee, the actor.

Dorothea Macnee was the great granddaughter of Hans Francis Hastings, 12th Earl of Huntingdon and granddaughter of Vice Admiral the Honourable George Fowler Hastings. Her parents, Dr Gordon George William Henry and Frances Alice Henry (née Hastings), were married on 04 Nov 1895. Dorothea was born on 30 Oct 1896 at Minehead in Somerset.

Dorothea married Daniel Macnee in June 1920. Daniel, eighteen years her senior, was a racehorse trainer and a grandson of the Scottish artist Sir Daniel Macnee. The couple initially lived near Marlborough, Wiltshire, where Patrick was born. In 1925 the family moved to College House in Lambourn, Berkshire.

Patrick Macnee later confirmed that it was an open marriage, Dorothea often spending extended periods in London, attending the theatre and fashionable parties. In December 1927 Dorothea gave birth to a second son, James, who lived for several years with his father, Oswald “Ozzie” Marmaduke Dalby Bell, who was also a horse trainer in Lambourn, Dorothea frequently visiting to see her son.

During one of her stays in London, Dorothea met divorcee Mrs Evelyn Spottiswoode, wealthy heiress of the Dewar's whisky company. A lesbian who preferred to dress in man-style tweed jackets and brogues, her Rooksnest House and estate were close to the Macnee home in Lambourn. In 1929 the Macnee’s separated when Daniel went to India to take up an appointment at the Bombay racecourse, while Dorothea and her son Patrick moved to live with Evelyn at Rooksnest. Although Daniel returned to live in College House in 1931, the Macnee’s never again lived together, although they maintained contact and never divorced.

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