Penelope Aitken's parents had a house, Anmer Hall, on the King's Sandringham estate, which led to her socialising with the royal family.
11 Facts About Penelope Aitken
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Penelope Aitken was romantically linked with several men, including Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Esmond Harmsworth and society artist Simon Elwes, which caused a minor scandal as he was married and a Roman Catholic.
3.
William Aitken had joined the RAF and Penelope joined the WRVS, helping to evacuate German children to Ireland.
4.
Penelope Aitken spent two years nursing him back to health, at a time when her baby son was ill with tuberculosis and the family home in London was bombed.
5.
Penelope Aitken devoted herself to community work in support of her husband's political career, becoming a magistrate and running the Clothing Exchange, which played a major role in helping the victims of the East Coast floods in 1953.
6.
Penelope Aitken lived with the children in Halesworth to be near her father, who died in 1969 aged 91.
7.
Penelope Aitken restarted her affair with Simon Elwes, and then had a long relationship with Sir John Davis, chairman of Rank Xerox.
8.
Penelope Aitken created a garden at Playford, her moated Tudor house near Ipswich.
9.
Lady Penelope Aitken continued to be seen at many parties and with many men.
10.
Penelope Aitken was the grandmother of the actor Jack Davenport, Petrina Khashoggi, Victoria Aitken, Alexandra Aitken and William Aitken.
11.
Penelope Aitken is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Playford, Suffolk.