Overview
Audrey Evelyn James (married names Coats, Field, and Pleydell-Bouverie) (21 April 1902 – 14 February 1968) was an English socialite included in The Book of Beauty by Cecil Beaton. Through her mother she was allegedly the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward VII, and she herself was the illegitimate daughter of The 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon.
Early life
Audrey Evelyn James was born on 21 April 1902, officially the daughter of William Dodge James and Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes. Her siblings are Helen Millicent Howard; Alexandra Maud Venetia Fawcus; Silvia Helena Sophia Wilson; and Edward James.
Edward James, in his memoirs, claims that rather than being the son of Edward VII, he was his grandson, his grandmother having had an affair with the Prince of Wales. William Dodge James was undisturbed by this, as he remained on receiving an anonymous letter telling him that Audrey James was not his daughter. Audrey's biological father was alleged to be Sir Edward Grey, who was later created The 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, the British Liberal statesman and Foreign Secretary.
Personal life
On 25 March 1922 Audrey James married Muir Dudley Coats, son of Sir Stuart Auchincloss Coats, 2nd Bt. and Jane Muir Greenlees. Before his death, they were the parents of one son:
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