Janet Aitken

Janet Gladys Aitken (later Campbell, Montagu, and Kidd; 9 July 1908 – 18 November 1988) was a Canadian-British aristocrat and socialite. The daughter of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, she grew up at Cherkley Court in Surrey. She was the first wife of Ian Campbell, later the Duke of Argyll, and the mother of Lady Jeanne Campbell. Her second husband, who was a son of the 9th Earl of Sandwich, died in World War II. She married a third time to the Canadian army officer Major Thomas Edward Dealtry Kidd.

An accomplished equestrian, Aitken served as a director of the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead for over twenty years. In her later life she obtained a license as a helicopter pilot and bred Fjord horses on her farm in Ewhurst, Surrey. A prominent socialite of her time, she was known to entertain members of the international jet set, politicians, and royalty at her second home in Barbados, where she was a friend and neighbour of the American diplomat W. Averell Harriman. In 1987, the year before she died, Aitken authored an autobiography titled The Beaverbrook Girl.

Early life and family Aitken was born on 9 July 1908 in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Max Aitken, the owner of the Daily Express, and Gladys Henderson Drury. She was Campbell's first wife. She and Campbell divorced in 1934. Through her daughter and son-in-law, Norman Mailer, she is the grandmother of American actresses Cusi Cram and Kate Mailer.

She married a second time, in 1935, to The Honourable William Drogo Sturges Montagu, the second son of George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich and Alberta Montagu, Countess of Sandwich. Her husband, who was a flying instructor with the Royal Air Force, was killed in 1940 while fighting in World War II. Her third husband died in 1979.

In 1960, Aitken bought a second home in Barbados, where she was known to entertain members of the international jet set, politicians, and royalty.

She died on 18 November 1988 at her home in Ewhurst, Surrey, England. She is buried next to her third husband at St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham.

In popular culture Aitken is portrayed by Sophie Ward in the 2021 historical drama series A Very British Scandal.