to spying on him, even to the extent of steaming open his letters and listening to his telephone conversations). By the late 1960s, Alvilde and Lees-Milne had reached a more settled point in their marriage. They became a more devoted couple, living together but still largely pursuing separate lives. By the 1970s, the Lees-Milnes were devoted to one another, until at the age of 70 James conceived a romantic (but platonic) relationship with a man of 25; this caused considerable strain to their marriage, and led to a permanent rift between Alvilde and Rosamond Lehmann. Alvilde became seriously ill in 1992, and Lees-Milne devoted the next two years of his life to caring for her. She died suddenly on 18 March 1994, James Lees-Milne having found her collapsed on the pathway of their Badminton home. Her death left him deeply depressed. Residences In 1961 Alvilde Lees-Milne purchased Alderley Grange, near the western edge of Cotswolds. The marriage survived, principally because they spent a good deal of time apart. Alvilde made a garden at Alderley which would later draw widespread admiration; she subsequently became a much sought-after garden designer, her clients including the Queen of Jordan, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and Mick Jagger at his manoir in France. She published a variety of best-selling books on gardening and, latterly, interiors. In 1974, Alvilde decided that Alderley Grange was too much for them. She sold the property; the couple moved to a flat in Lansdown Crescent, Bath. It was soon realised that the place was too cramped. They moved to the 17th-century Essex House, on the Badminton estate of the Duke of Beaufort, in 1975; they rented the property at the considerate suggestion of their close friend David Somerset, the duke's nephew and heir. References External links James Lees-Milne and Alvilde Chaplin 1909 births 1994 deaths Bisexual women British gardeners Chaplin English LGBT people People from Alderley, Gloucestershire People from Westminster 20th-century LGBT people