The Secret of the Queen’s Two Cousins ​​Who Were Killed and Imprisoned for Life in a Mental Hospital

In 1987, the British public first learned that two cousins ​​of Queen Elizabeth II had spent most of their lives in mental hospitals, even being declared dead on record, a secret that the Royal Family had kept hidden for decades.

In 1987, the British tabloid The Sun published a shocking story. Instead of sensational stories about Princess Diana’s crumbling marriage, the public was given shocking news: Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon—two cousins ​​of Queen Elizabeth II—had been wrongly declared dead nearly a quarter of a century earlier. Not only had they lived longer than was publicly known, they had spent much of their lives in a mental hospital.

Nerissa and Katherine, born in 1919 and 1926 respectively, were so severely disabled that they had the mental capacity of a six-year-old. Apparently to conceal this from the public, their mother, Fenella Bowes-Lyon, had them institutionalized. They were later listed as deceased in the 1963 edition of Burke’s Peerage, a reference book on British aristocratic lineages, with Nerissa dying in 1940 and Katherine in 1961.

Advertisement: 2:18

However, the heartbreaking truth came to light in 1987—just a year after Nerissa actually died (1986). Katherine, still alive but frail, was photographed and published in The Sun, sending shockwaves across the kingdom. The incident led to accusations of a royal cover-up, a high-profile documentary about the two disabled women, and even an episode of the hit Netflix series The Crown.

The Childhood and Tragedy of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon

Nerissa Bowes-Lyon was born on February 18, 1919 in London, the daughter of John Herbert Bowes-Lyon (brother of Queen Elizabeth, mother of Queen Elizabeth II) and Fenella Bowes-Lyon. On July 4, 1926, the couple had their second daughter: Katherine. The family had three other daughters.

Shortly after the girls were born, signs of developmental abnormalities began to appear. Neither could speak, and their cognitive abilities were severely limited. Their families believed they had a severe genetic condition, possibly traced back to their maternal grandfather, Charles Trefusis.

Nurses who cared for the sisters later described in more detail their disabilities — which had never been specifically diagnosed.

“They couldn’t speak, but they would point and make sounds. If you looked after them, you would understand what they wanted. They definitely have speech therapy these days and communicate much better. They understand a lot more than people think,” Onelle Braithwaite, a nurse who looked after the sisters, told the Daily Mail.

Another nurse, Dot Penfold, said: “They are not difficult to care for, they are just mischievous like children. Katherine is very mischievous. You can shout at her and she will ignore it.”

At the time, many aristocratic families tried to hide disabled members from the public eye to avoid scandal. This was especially important for a family as closely related to the royal family as the Bowes-Lyons. Sisters Nerissa and Katherine are cousins ​​on Queen Elizabeth II’s mother’s side; the Queen’s mother, Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, was the sister of Nerissa and Katherine’s father.

After their father died of pneumonia in 1930, the sisters’ mother, Fenella, decided to send her two children to a special educational facility called Arniston School, reserved for disabled aristocratic children.

In 1941, Nerissa (22) and Katherine (15) were transferred to the Earlswood Royal Mental Hospital in Redhill, Surrey. Interestingly, on the same day, their aunt Harriet’s three daughters, who also suffered from similar disabilities, were admitted to the same hospital.

Since 1963, Burke’s Peerage had listed the sisters as dead – Nerissa in 1940 and Katherine in 1961. Nearly a quarter of a century later, in 1987, it was discovered that Nerissa had only died in 1986, while Katherine was still alive.

The truth comes to light

In 1987, a photographer from The Sun newspaper posed as a relative of Katherine and gained access to her home. The British public, who had long believed both sisters to be dead, were shocked to learn that at least one was still alive. A picture of a gaunt, bewildered Katherine was immediately published on The Sun’s front page under the headline: “Queen’s cousin locked in asylum.”

The story became an instant scandal. Not only were the Queen’s cousins ​​locked up for decades, they were also falsely declared dead and virtually forgotten by their families. Outrage spread, and accusations of a royal cover-up followed.

Buckingham Palace issued a brief statement: “We have no comment. This is a private matter for the Bowes-Lyon family.” Meanwhile, the Bowes-Lyon family has been scrambling to calm public opinion.

Some relatives believe Fenella may have made an inadvertent mistake when filling out her information for Burke’s Peerage. Others claim the family visited the sisters regularly.

https://ss.yomedia.vn/lib/outstream.html?pid=d4cd39a285f2438f894556ed84600ffa&uqk=1749461340013&pt=&vt=https%3A%2F%2Fdelivery.yomedia.vn%2Fin-vast%3Fid%3Db787bca3-69fc-43a5-9f23-99a75959f61c&skip=7&w=640&h=360

Another relative, Elizabeth Anson, said: “There was no attempt to hide anything. They had regular family visits.” However, East Surrey Health said: “They had regular visits until the early 1960s, when a close relative died. Since then, they have had virtually no visitors.”

“My impression is that they are forgotten,” said Dot Penfold, head nurse on the ward.

Many residents believe Nerissa and Katherine should never have been admitted to Earlswood Hospital – which has a reputation for being overcrowded and has even been accused of patient abuse.

The Sad Legacy of Sisters Nerissa and Katherine

When she died in Earlswood in 1986, aged 66, none of her family attended her funeral. She was buried in Redhill Cemetery in a simple grave, with a small plastic plaque engraved with her surname and serial number.

Meanwhile, though still alive when the scandal broke, Katherine spent much of her life in isolation. “A frail old woman, with little understanding of the world around her,” one hospital administrator described her as. “She was like a child.” There was no evidence that she had ever had a visitor since the 1960s, he added.

In 2011, the documentary “The Queen’s Hidden Cousins” aired on British television, questioning the British aristocracy’s tradition of keeping disabled relatives hidden.

Katherine died on February 23, 2014, at the age of 87, in another facility and was buried near her sister’s burial site.

In 2020, their story was retold in the episode “The Hereditary Principle” of the series “The Crown” (season 4). In a fictional scene, Princess Margaret confronts the Queen about the two cousins ​​being kept hidden. The Queen says: “Their illness, their stupidity, would make people doubt their royal blood. Imagine if that were leaked to the press.” Although this is a fictional line, it reflects the heavy prejudice that British society had at that time against people with severe disabilities.