Lord and Lady Ormonde resided at the family seat
Kilkenny Castle for the duration of their marriage. They entertained
King Edward VII and
Queen Alexandra at the castle in 1904. Lord Ormonde had succeeded The King as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron upon the former's ascension to the Throne in 1901. Other royal visitors Elizabeth hosted at Kilkenny Castle included The Duke and Duchess of York (the future
King George V and
Queen Mary in April 1899, and
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in early 1877. Lord and Lady Ormonde leased 32 Upper Brook St in London as their London home from the Duke of Westminster from 1881 to 1921 (Lady Ormonde continued to lease the property after Lord Ormonde's death in 1919). It was later reported that the property was gifted to Elizabeth by her father. The 1901 Census of Ireland records that the Ormondes' Household at Kilkenny included a Butler, Housekeeper, Cook, three Ladies Maids, a Lodge Keeper, two Footmen, one "Odd Man", three Housemaids, two Dairy Maids, one Still Room Maid, one Scullery Maid, one Kitchen Maid, a Hospital Nurse and a Professional Nurse. The
1911 census of Ireland records that seventeen servants resided at Kilkenny Castle as part of Lord and Lady Ormonde's household, including a Valet, two Footmen, a Chauffeur, Assistant Lodge Keeper, Housekeeper, Cook, Lady's Maid, four Housemaids, a still room maid, scullery maid, kitchen maid, and two dairy maids. Groom, Land Agent, Laundress and two Laundry maids. During the First World War, Elizabeth served as the President of the Kilkenny County Branches of the British Red Cross Society and Soldiers' and Sailors' Families' Association.
Royal links Lord and Lady Ormonde maintained close links with the British Royal Family. Elizabeth's maternal grandmother
Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland was a favourite of
Queen Victoria, serving as Mistress of the Robes on four occasions spanning fifteen years between 1837 and 1861. In 1894 Elizabeth's sister
Lady Margaret Grosvenor married
Prince Adolphus of Teck, brother of
Queen Mary. On her husband's side of the family, Elizabeth's mother-in-law Frances, Marchioness of Ormonde had served as a lady-in-waiting to the widowed
Queen Adelaide from 1844 to 1849; Queen Adelaide was also a godmother of the Third Marquess of Ormonde. Elizabeth's late father-in-law
John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde had also served as a Lord-in-Waiting to
Queen Victoria from 1841-1852, and 1853-54. Lord Ormonde's maternal grandfather
General The Hon. Sir Edward Paget had also served as an
Aide-de-camp to
King George III in 1798, as a
Groom of the Bedchamber to
George IV from 1816 to 1822. Elizabeth's sisters-in-law
Lady Mary Butler and Lady Blanche Butler were both selected to be bridesmaids at weddings of
The Queen's children; Lady Mary in 1871 at the wedding of
Princess Louise to
John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, and later Lady Blanche in 1882 at the Wedding of
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany to
Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Lady Mary also served as a Lady of the Bedchamber in the Household of the Queen's daughter-in-law,
The Duchess of Edinburgh from 1874, and as Extra Lady-in-Waiting from 1877. The close relationship between the Royal Family and Elizabeth's family was well-documented in the days prior to the wedding of their elder daughter Lady Beatrice Butler. Two days prior to the Wedding Ceremony (the reception was held at
Stafford House)
King Edward and
Queen Alexandra received Lord and Lady Ormonde, Lady Beatrice, and Beatrice's fiancée Major-General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew at Marlborough House, where the King and Queen presented Beatrice with a wedding present of a pair of diamonds wings with a large ruby in the centre. The King also personally presented an Indian Shawl directly to Lady Beatrice. King Edward VII's daughter
Princess Victoria also gave Beatrice a wedding present of a blue enamel and diamond brooch. The King's sisters
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll,
Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and
Princess Henry of Battenberg gave respective wedding presents of a diamond and emerald bracelet, an antique silver and tortoiseshell casket and a gold curb bracelet. The
Duke of Cornwall and York and
Duchess of Cornwall and York gave the couple a diamond and enammelled pendant, and the King's brother
the Duke of Connaught gave a buhl clock. In 1952
Queen Camilla (then Miss Camilla Shand) and her sister
Annabel Shand served as child bridesmaids at the wedding of their uncle The Hon. Jeremy Cubitt to Elizabeth's great-granddaughter Diana Du Cane.
Yachting Society Lord and Lady Ormonde also were reportedly on friendly terms with
Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, who they socialised with during the annual
Cowes Regatta. From the 1880's to early 1900's the Ormondes stayed on Lord Ormonde's yacht the
Mirage. In 1910 Lord and Lady Ormonde leased Solent Lodge on the Isle of Wight, a seaside villa with six reception rooms and eighteen bedrooms. Solent Lodge was purchased by Lord Ormonde from
Sir John Whittaker Ellis in 1911, and became a frequent site for visits from members of Europe's royal families, including
The King and
Queen in 1914, and the Kaiser's brother
Prince Henry of Prussia, who stayed at Solent Lodge as their guest in 1913 and 1914. During her widowhood Elizabeth also hosted
The Queen and
Princess Beatrice at Solent Lodge in 1927. During the First World War, Lord and Lady Ormonde loaned Solent Lodge as a nursing home for wounded British Soldiers. ==Dowager Marchioness of Ormonde==