Dorothy de Rothschild

Who was Dorothy de Rothschild?

Dorothy Mathilde de Rothschild was an English philanthropist and activist for Jewish affairs who married into the Rothschild international financial dynasty.

Known to her friends as "Dolly", she married James Armand de Rothschild at the age of 17 in 1913. He was 35 years old, the son of Edmond James de Rothschild of the Paris branch of the Rothschild family. In 1922 James de Rothschild inherited Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. This became their country home. They also had a London house in St James's Square.

Dorothy de Rothschild assisted her husband in his political campaigns, particularly from 1929 to 1945 when he was Liberal Member of Parliament for the Isle of Ely constituency.

After his death in 1957, Waddesdon Manor was bequeathed to the National Trust, but the surrounding estate and small mansion at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire were retained by Mrs. de Rothschild and bequeathed to her husband's great nephew Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. She remained a strong influence on the preservation and development of the house and collections at Waddesdon.