Rose Boote was born in Ireland (or possibly to Irish parents in England) and as a teen, probably attended an Irish convent school.
A beautiful girl, she eventually
found her way into theater and then became a chorus singer for the ever
hustling Irish theatre manager George Edwardes. When she appeared in London in
1869 she was seen by an audience member named Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of
Headfort, who fell madly in love with her.
After a whirlwind romance, the
two announced their wedding plans.
It didn’t go over well.
Lord Headfort’s entire family
gathered in London and demanded he not marry Rosie. Even the King himself stepped in an tried to discourage
Headfort from marrying the girl.
But marry her he did, on April
11, 1901, and London society was scandalized. Not only had he married out of his
class, but he also didn’t marry for money and worst of all, he had married a
show girl.
Another shocker came when Lord
Headfort resigned his military commission and then converted to Roman
Catholicism. He served as a Senator in the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928.
Rosie, she would be known for the
rest of her life as Lady Headfort, had two sons and a daughter, all of whom lived
in the family’s estate in County Meath in Ireland. During her later life, Rosie
attended three kings' coronations at Westminster Abbey.
Her husband died in 1943. Rosie died
in 1958, aged 80, at her town home in London.
