The Hidden Cousins of Queen Elizabeth II: The Tragic Story of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon
Royal families have long been known for carefully controlling their public image, often keeping anything deemed unseemly out of sight. But few stories illustrate this better than the fate of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, two of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousins, who spent most of their lives in an institution, forgotten by all but the hospital staff. For decades, their very existence was obscured, their deaths unnoticed by the wider world—until a 1987 exposé in The Sun revealed their tragic story.
Aristocratic Beginnings
Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes-Lyon was born on 18 February 1919, and her younger sister Katherine Juliet Bowes-Lyon followed on 4 July 1926. They were the daughters of John Herbert Bowes-Lyon and his wife, Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis. Their father, John, was the second son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, making him the brother of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon—later known to the world as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. This meant that Nerissa and Katherine were first cousins to Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.
On paper, they were born into a prestigious aristocratic family. Their grandfather, the Earl of Strathmore, had strong ties to the British monarchy, and their mother came from the noble Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis lineage. Given this background, one might have expected that the two girls would have grown up in the refined world of Britain’s upper class, mingling with royalty and attending high society events. Instead, their lives took a very different course.
A Secret Institutionalisation
Both Nerissa and Katherine were born with severe developmental disabilities. In the medical terminology of the time, they were labelled as “imbeciles”—a now-outdated and offensive term used to describe individuals with significant cognitive impairments. Neither of the sisters ever learned to talk. By 1941, when Nerissa was 22 and Katherine was 15, the decision was made to place them in the Royal Earlswood Hospital, an institution in Redhill, Surrey, which catered to people with learning disabilities.
Once admitted to Earlswood, they effectively disappeared from public life. The sisters remained in the institution for decades, with little to no contact from their high-profile family. Their plight went unnoticed by the world, in large part because of what appeared to be an intentional cover-up.
The 1963 edition of Burke’s Peerage, the authoritative genealogical record of Britain’s aristocracy, falsely listed both women as deceased—Nerissa supposedly in 1940 and Katherine in 1961. It was a shocking discovery when, in 1987, a journalist for The Sun uncovered the truth: the sisters were very much alive, but had been living in obscurity in a hospital for the mentally disabled.
A Forgotten Existence
By the time their story came to light, Nerissa had already passed away in 1986 at the age of 66. The revelation that she had died in such lonely circumstances—without any family members attending her funeral—sparked public outrage. Instead of a grand family burial, Nerissa had been laid to rest in a simple grave at Redstone Cemetery in Surrey, initially marked only by a plastic tag and a serial number. It was only after the media exposed her fate that the Bowes-Lyon family belatedly added a headstone.
Katherine, who lived until 2014, continued residing in care facilities, first at Earlswood until its closure in 1997, and later in other care homes in Surrey.
The Cover-Up and Family Response
The revelation of Nerissa and Katherine’s existence led to widespread speculation that the royal family had deliberately concealed them due to the stigma surrounding disabilities at the time. The idea of a close relative of the Queen being institutionalised in an asylum was something that the monarchy—keen to project an image of perfection—may have found embarrassing.
However, members of the Bowes-Lyon family were quick to dispute any claims of a deliberate cover-up. In 1987, Lord Clinton, a cousin, publicly defended the family, suggesting that the incorrect information in Burke’s Peerage was a simple mistake. He claimed that their mother, Fenella, was “a vague person” who had filled out the form incorrectly. However, given that Burke’s included specific years of death, many found this explanation unconvincing.
A 2011 Channel 4 documentary, The Queen’s Hidden Cousins, delved deeper into the case. Nurses who had cared for the sisters at Earlswood stated that they had never received visits from any members of the royal or Bowes-Lyon families. There were no birthday cards, no Christmas presents—nothing to acknowledge that these women had powerful and influential relatives.
However, some members of the family later refuted this version of events. It was reported that their mother, Fenella, visited her daughters regularly until her own death in 1966. Lady Elizabeth Shakerley, their niece, claimed that they were not abandoned and that gifts were sent at Christmas and on their birthdays. She also stated that when the Queen Mother discovered her nieces were still alive in 1982, she made arrangements for them to receive money for treats like toys and sweets.
Regardless of these claims, the overwhelming impression left by The Queen’s Hidden Cousins was one of neglect. When Nerissa died, there was no grand memorial, no family at the funeral. Only later, after public scrutiny, did her relatives organise a proper gravestone.
A Family Pattern? The Other Hidden Cousins
As more details emerged about the Bowes-Lyon sisters, it became clear that they were not the only family members affected. Their mother’s sister, Harriet Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, also had children with severe disabilities. Three of her daughters were placed in Earlswood Hospital alongside Nerissa and Katherine. This led medical researchers to speculate that a genetic condition affecting female members of the Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis lineage may have caused their developmental issues.
In 1996, the surviving members of this family were moved from Earlswood to Ketwin House, a care home in Surrey. When it closed in 2001, they were relocated again.
The presence of multiple disabled family members fuelled further speculation that the aristocracy’s tendency towards close intermarriage may have played a role in their conditions.
Public Backlash and Changing Attitudes
The story of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon exposed an uncomfortable reality about attitudes towards disability within the British aristocracy and, by extension, society as a whole. In the early 20th century, having a relative with a disability was often seen as shameful, something to be hidden away rather than embraced. Families of high status, desperate to maintain their reputation, often institutionalised disabled members, removing them from public view.
By the time their story became widely known in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, attitudes towards disability had changed significantly. The scandal surrounding the sisters’ treatment highlighted just how much stigma had existed within elite circles, raising important questions about how disabled people had been historically treated in Britain.
The royal family, for its part, never officially commented on the matter, though Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly deeply distressed by the 2011 documentary. Lady Elizabeth Shakerley strongly defended her family’s actions, arguing that the documentary had been misleading and intrusive. Yet, for many, the damage had already been done.
The Sad but Revealing Tale of the Cousins of Queen Elizabeth
The fate of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon remains one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the royal family. While their relatives lived in palaces and enjoyed lives of wealth and privilege, the sisters spent their days in an institution, with little contact from those who should have cared for them the most.
Their story serves as a stark reminder of how society once viewed disability and the lengths to which even the most powerful families would go to preserve their public image. Although they lived most of their lives in obscurity, the exposure of their story has ensured that they will not be forgotten.