Beb Asquith

Herbert Asquith, called Beb, was the second son of Herbert Henry Asquith the Liberal Prime Minister. He was born in Hampstead in 1881. Asquith had 5 children, 4 sons and 1 daughter, by his first wife. He remarried after her death and had 2 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. 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 Cynthia Charteris, the daughter of the Earl of Wemyss... and due to the sharp division between Liberals and Tories at the time their families were uneasy about the match. Beb was not a Tory and he was 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.