Lloyd, Constance

AUTHOR (IRELAND)
BORN 2 Jan 1859, Dublin - DIED 7 Apr 1898, Genova, Liguria
BIRTH NAME Lloyd, Constance Mary
CAUSE OF DEATH spinal operation
GRAVE LOCATION Genova, Liguria: Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno, Piazzale Resasco (Settore F: Via Protestanti)

Constance Lloyd was the daugher of the Irish barrister Horace Lloyd. She was well read and spoke several languages. In 1884 she married Oscar Wilde, although her family didn't think he was a suitable match. They had two children, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). She wrote a book of children's stories, "There Was Once" that was published in 1888.

It is unknown when she found out that her husband had homosexual relationships. After the birth of their second son it seems they had no longer sexual relations. In 1891 she did meet his lover Lord Alfred Douglas who visited them at home but she was probably still in the dark of what happened because Wilde often stayed in hotels instead of at their home in Tite Street in London.

After Wilde was imprisoned for his homosexuality in 1895 she went abroad. But Constance had trouble walking and suffered from other health problems since years. It is unclear if this was worsened by a fall from the stairs in London in 1895. In 1895 she was operated by Luigi Maria Bossi in Genoa.

She changed her name and the name of her sons and visited Wilde in prison to tell him of his mother's death in 1896. After his release from prison Wilde wanted to join her and the children abroad but after much hesitation she refused to see him when she found out that he had broken his promise that he wouldn't meet Douglas again. She lived in Heidelberg and in Nervi near Genoa.

Her health problems worsened and she was almost unable to walk. She was operated again by Bossi in Genoa and she died a few days after the operation, aged only 39. Her brother Otho arrived too late to see her alive and Bossi had left Genoa before he could talk to him. In later years her grandson Merlin Holland concluded that is it possible that she suffered from multiple sclerosis that wasn't detected by her doctors.

She was buried in Genoa and Wilde visited her grave in 1899 before he died in 1900 himself. The text "Wife of Oscar Wilde" was added to the inscription on her grave in 1963.

Family
• Husband: Wilde, Oscar (1884-1898)

Related persons
• is brother/sister of Lloyd, Otho Holland

Events
25/2/1899Oscar Wilde visits his wife Constance's grave. Their marriage had broken down after his conviction for sodomy and she had died during an operation in 1898. He wrote to his friend Robby Ross that he was terribly affected. He had intented to stay only one day in Genoa, but he met a young actor named Dicaco and they spent three days together before he left. [Wilde, Oscar]

Images

The grave of Constance Lloyd at the Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno, Genoa.
Picture by androom (03 Mar 2014)

 

The grave of Constance Lloyd at the Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno, Genoa.
Picture by androom (03 Mar 2014)

 

Sources
• Moyle, Franny, Constance, The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde, John Murray, London, 2011
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Constance Lloyd - Wikipedia


Lloyd, Marie

Published: 19 Jun 2015
Last update: 30 Mar 2022