Last updated: January 24, 2024
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Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish: Joy Given, Joy Found
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
"No American, man or woman who has ever settled in England, was so much loved as she, and no American ever loved England more. Strangely enough, it was those in London who are most disenchanted with this day and age who perhaps derived the greatest comfort and light from her enchanting personality."
- The Times in London
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Early Life and Education
Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy was born to Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1920. She was baptized at nearby St. Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church and attended the Edward Devotion School. Mrs. Kennedy later said of her daughter that “she was lovely to look at, full of joie de vivre, and so tremendously popular.” Her zest for life led to the nickname “Kick.” Moving to Riverdale, New York in 1927 and summering at the family’s cottage in Hyannis Port, MA, Kick loved horseback riding, tennis, swimming, sailing, and touch football as much as buying records or seeing movies.
Growing up as a Kennedy carried responsibility. Mrs. Kennedy often said, quoting St. Luke, “to whom much is given, much is expected.” Joe Jr., Jack, and Kick formed the “golden trio” of Kennedy siblings and were expected to set the example for the other six. However, Kick’s free-spiritedness chafed against the parental pressure to be caretaker for her younger siblings and her older sister, who had an intellectual disability, Rosemary. She felt closest to similarly free-spirited older brother Jack. Still, Kick was devoted to family and faith, protecting Rosemary from malicious gossip, and remaining a devout Catholic.
Copyright John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Kennedy Family Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
While Joe Jr. and Jack were set for prestigious Choate and then Harvard, Kick was sent to a convent in Noroton, Connecticut. Despite asthma and appendicitis, Kathleen made many friends and placed near the top of her class, excelling in Christian doctrine and history. In 1935, Kick attended the Holy Child Convent in Neuilly, France, bordering Paris. Kick relished the culture and liberal atmosphere that Neuilly offered with its access to Parisian art and history. Her habit of questioning the nuns’ rules earned her the nickname “Mademoiselle Pourquoi” or in English, “Ms. Why.”
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Ambassador's Daughter
In March of 1938, Kick first arrived in London, to the delight of the British press, who treated the family of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., newly appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James, as American royalty. Fearless Kick stood out among London’s other socialites.
At a July garden party at Buckingham Palace, Kick met William “Billy” Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington and heir to the dukedom of Devonshire and Chatsworth House. Billy’s pedigree as heir to one of the wealthiest, most vocally anti-Catholic political families in England, did little to stop their instant connection. Lively Kick and calm, thoughtful Billy grew closer as months passed, talking late into the night whenever together.
In March 1939, the Kennedys (except Joe Jr.) met in Rome for the coronation of Pope Pius XII. Kick wrote that he received enthusiasm “mightier, more spontaneous, than any number of ‘Heils’ from a drilled populace.” Kick’s first article, published in Boston, caught the attention of American Catholic circles.
The ambassador’s adult children began to form their own views on war. Kick favored the patriotism of the aristocracy, for whom defending King and Country was a matter of honor. On September 3rd, Joe Jr., Jack, and Kick walked to Westminster to hear a heartbroken Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announce war. They were stirred by the fiery Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, whose words on the struggle against fascism elicited cheers.
While still in England, Kick recalled waking to an air raid drill with a “series of piercing blasts” and the urgent wardens “bustling people into the underground dugout.” Joe Sr. decided the risk to his family was too great. After 18 months abroad, Kick journeyed home, vowing to return to England. Kick attended Finch College in Manhattan for a time, during which a student vote occurred on whether the United States should enter the war; her's was one of only two “yes” votes.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Career and Public Service
By the summer of 1941, Kick felt restless watching her friends marry. She channeled her writing skills and curiosity into a journalism career. At the Washington Times-Herald, Kick, initially hired as the editor’s secretary, sought to earn higher status. The worldview instilled in Kick by her parents and her religion evolved significantly during her time in D.C. Reporter John White described his friend’s way of exploring progressive topics by playing devil’s advocate as if “she wanted the exercise of defending something she’d never even dreamt was attackable before.”
In 1943, Kick found her ticket back to England via the American Red Cross. When Kick returned to London in June, the city was changed by the German bombing campaign, “the Blitz,” and deprivations of war, but her friendships held strong. She and Billy were closer than ever. Kick lived at the Hans Crescent Club, where she worked long hours to boost soldiers’ morale.
Kick and Billy’s courtship was serious, as was the issue of their different religious backgrounds, as the Cavendishes were Anglican. The duchess invited Kick to Christmas, treating her place in the family as a given. Billy soon proposed. His father, the most anti-Catholic Cavendish, assured him that if he married Kick while she remained Catholic, the family would not cut him off. Billy, however, felt the dual responsibility too strongly, this possibility of forfeiting the continuation of the dukedom for their future children; Kick had to relinquish her faith. She confided her dilemma to priests and to Joe Jr.
In the spring of 1944, Billy ran for the historical Cavendish parliamentary seat. Kick’s zeal for politics was undeterred by mudslinging from an increasingly anti-aristocracy public and Billy’s landslide defeat. She loved the family’s nightly strategy sessions and canvassing under a false name.
Copyright John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Kennedy Family Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Marriage and Loss
On May 6, 1944, Kick and Billy were wed in a register office, witnessed by Billy’s extended family, many society and Red Cross friends, and Joe Jr., the sole Kennedy present. The union drew displeasure from many Catholics, and notably Rose Kennedy. After five weeks together following their marriage, Billy was deployed to Normandy.
The German military responded to the recent D-Day Allied victory by terror bombing London. These aerial bombs, called “doodlebugs,” often landed near where Kick and her loved ones were. Her diary recalled how, “people are always listening first for them to arrive and next for the sound that the dreaded engine has stopped.” That eerie twelve second silence before the blast made Londoners fear the doodlebug bombs more than any others.
In her first public appearance as Lady Hartington in August 1944, Kick spoke at the Bakewell Fair, delighting the same electorate that had rejected her husband. This impressed the duke and his political agent, who wrote about how useful she would be to the family’s political life after the war.
Joe Jr., meanwhile, decided that rather than return home after 25 missions, he would volunteer for a dangerous, top-secret flight to destroy the doodlebugs’ Normandy launch site. On August 12, 1944 his plane exploded in the sky. Kick grieved in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, ready to stay with her family until Billy returned.
Billy helped to liberate Brussels on September 3rd, writing to Kick that, “I have a permanent lump in my throat and I long for you to be here as it is an experience which few can have and which I would love to share with you.” Hope for this continued Allied momentum dwindled rapidly in the following days, as the troops met German resistance. On September 9th, Billy was killed in action.
This time, Kick grieved in England. The duchess wrote her “never to forget” that Kick’s marrying Billy had given him “complete happiness.” Kick spent the holidays with her in-laws, followed by a convent retreat. Kick concluded that England was her true home, moved in with Billy’s aunt, and supervised Red Cross entertainment programs.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Lady Hartington
In March 1945, Kick gave a speech on housewives’ value to the war effort to the Women’s Institute in Derby, England. When asked to cover American wives’ role in feeding England, it was her remark on women keeping financial records that elated the crowd. She wrote of this experience, “they were all screaming ‘Give the English country housewife the recognition she deserves – more freedom for women.’” She pictured Billy “in a state” hearing her “inspire the women to bigger and better things.”
After Victory in Europe Day, Kick remained close with the Cavendishes and continued public duties as befit her title. In June, Jack visited London to report on the upcoming British parliamentary election.
Kick advised him as an insider, introduced him to interviewees, and drove him to Churchill’s various speeches. After seeing one of Kick’s Red Cross speeches in Derbyshire, Jack wrote that she seemed “like a possible candidate.” Kick got a house near Parliament to use as a salon for political discourse. After her friend, Hugh Fraser, won a House of Commons seat, Kick frequented Parliament.
In 1946, chairing the Commandos Benevolent Fund Ball was one of Kick’s many charitable activities. It was at this event where she met Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl of Fitzwilliam, known for his naval heroics as well as his scandalous lifestyle. Kick had expected to embrace the responsibilities of duchess at Billy’s side. Now, she found in Peter the connection she had lost, and the potential for a life in politics. In May 1948, Kick and Peter flew toward the French Riviera to discuss marriage with her father. Their plane never arrived. The Cavendishes gave her a full Catholic ceremony and burial at Chatsworth. Joe Sr. was the only Kennedy in attendance at her funeral. Her epitaph reads, “Joy she gave Joy she has found.”