Christmas Eve, 1910

By April 1910, Lady Valerie Susie Bruce Meux's health was in decline and, in early September, she went abroad for treatment for heart problems. She was expected to be away for some months but decided to return to Theobalds Park for Christmas and arrived in London on Monday 19 December.

For some reason she decided not to go to her Park Lane home, choosing instead to stay the night at the Coburg Hotel, Grovesnor Square. A telegram was sent to staff at Theobald’s Park saying that she would be home for lunch the next day. That night, in the early hours of Tuesday, she died. Her passing was international news.

Lady Meux was buried in the Meux family vault at St Mary’s Church, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, on Christmas Eve, Saturday, 24 December 1910.