Sir Robert Houston, 1st Baronet, was a Member of Parliament for West Toxteth, and a shipping magnate. Houston is described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "a hard, ruthless, unpleasant bachelor."[3] Nevertheless, Lucy Byron chased him for seven years, seeing off his old friend F.E. Smith, who opposed the marriage.[5] Lucy got her way and finally they married on 12 December 1924.
Houston established residence at Beaufield House, Saint Saviour, Jersey for the purposes of tax avoidance, and the couple divided their time between England, Jersey, and Houston's luxurious yacht, SY Liberty. When Sir Robert showed her his will, Lady Houston reportedly tore it up, telling him that £1,000,000 was insufficient. By the time of their marriage Sir Robert was an invalid who suffered from bouts of depression and believed that he was being poisoned. He died aboard Liberty on 14 April 1926, leaving his widow roughly £5.5 million.[2]
Lady Houston was now England's second richest woman. Although not liable to pay death duties on Houston's estate she negotiated personally with Winston Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, to pay £1.6m without admitting liability.[3]
Houston established residence at Beaufield House, Saint Saviour, Jersey for the purposes of tax avoidance, and the couple divided their time between England, Jersey, and Houston's luxurious yacht, SY Liberty. When Sir Robert showed her his will, Lady Houston reportedly tore it up, telling him that £1,000,000 was insufficient. By the time of their marriage Sir Robert was an invalid who suffered from bouts of depression and believed that he was being poisoned. He died aboard Liberty on 14 April 1926, leaving his widow roughly £5.5 million.[2]
Lady Houston was now England's second richest woman. Although not liable to pay death duties on Houston's estate she negotiated personally with Winston Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, to pay £1.6m without admitting liability.[3]
Sir Robert Houston, 1st Baronet, was a Member of Parliament for West Toxteth, and a shipping magnate. Houston is described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "a hard, ruthless, unpleasant bachelor."[3] Nevertheless, Lucy Byron chased him for seven years, seeing off his old friend F.E. Smith, who opposed the marriage.[5] Lucy got her way and finally they married on 12 December 1924.
Houston established residence at Beaufield House, Saint Saviour, Jersey for the purposes of tax avoidance, and the couple divided their time between England, Jersey, and Houston's luxurious yacht, SY Liberty. When Sir Robert showed her his will, Lady Houston reportedly tore it up, telling him that £1,000,000 was insufficient. By the time of their marriage Sir Robert was an invalid who suffered from bouts of depression and believed that he was being poisoned. He died aboard Liberty on 14 April 1926, leaving his widow roughly £5.5 million.[2]
Lady Houston was now England's second richest woman. Although not liable to pay death duties on Houston's estate she negotiated personally with Winston Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, to pay £1.6m without admitting liability.[3]
Houston established residence at Beaufield House, Saint Saviour, Jersey for the purposes of tax avoidance, and the couple divided their time between England, Jersey, and Houston's luxurious yacht, SY Liberty. When Sir Robert showed her his will, Lady Houston reportedly tore it up, telling him that £1,000,000 was insufficient. By the time of their marriage Sir Robert was an invalid who suffered from bouts of depression and believed that he was being poisoned. He died aboard Liberty on 14 April 1926, leaving his widow roughly £5.5 million.[2]
Lady Houston was now England's second richest woman. Although not liable to pay death duties on Houston's estate she negotiated personally with Winston Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, to pay £1.6m without admitting liability.[3]
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