Beb Asquith

Herbert Asquith, called Beb, was the second son of Henry Asquith, the Liberal Prime Minister. He was born in Hampstead in 1881. He was called after his father, whose first name was Herbert. Asquith had 5 children, 4 sons and 1 daughter, by his first wife. He remarried after her death and had 2 more children by the socialite, Margot Tennant. Helen Asquith was the daughter of a doctor and was not interested in social events. Margot was the daughter of a Scottish millionaire, and nouveau riche... who loved society. She had a reputation for being eccentric. Violet, Beb's sister had a difficult relationship with her stepmother, and Margot was not easy to live with. Beb was highly intelligent, like his father, sister and brothers, and he studied law. In 1910, he married Lady Cynthia Charteris, daughter of the Earl of Wemyss. Due to the sharp division between Liberals and Tories at the time, over the issue of the House of Lords, their families were uneasy about the match. Beb was not a Tory. He was also young and not well off, but the marriage took place. Cynthia was literary minded too, and enjoyed reading and writing. She later became a succesful author.