Erased from History: The Tragic Fate of Queen Elizabeth II’s Cousins (7 photos)
A dark chapter in the history of the British royal family was brought to light in Netflix's hit series *The Crown*. One storyline centers on the tragic fate of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousins, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon. Hidden away from the world and officially declared dead, the sisters spent their lives in an asylum for the mentally ill. Read on for the heartbreaking story of these two royal sisters. 
Nerissa and Katherine suffered from severe congenital mental disabilities. They spent almost their entire lives in an asylum, denied any of the privileges associated with their aristocratic lineage.
Their high-society relatives rarely visited them. Nerissa died in 1986 at the age of 66, while Katherine passed away in 2014 at 87. 
Nerissa was born in 1919, and her younger sister Katherine in 1926. They were the daughters of John Bowes-Lyon, brother to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. 
Conditions at the asylum were grim. The sisters had very few clothes of their own and had to share underwear with 230 other residents. Institutionalizing them was a drastic move following the 1923 marriage of their aunt, Elizabeth, to the future King George VI. At the time, having relatives with mental disabilities was viewed as a deep social stigma. The sisters' lives were sacrificed to protect the reputation and standing of the Crown.
It is believed the genetic condition was passed down through their mother, Fenella. In fact, three of their cousins—Idonea, Rosemary, and Etheldreda, the daughters of Fenella’s sister Harriet—were placed in the very same asylum. 
A young Princess Elizabeth (left) with her sister Margaret and mother, Queen Elizabeth
In 1996, an explosive newspaper report exposed the tragic fate of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousins. The story claimed that the Queen Mother was unaware her nieces were still alive until 1982, having believed them long dead. However, many suspect she was complicit in the cover-up from the beginning. There is no record of their royal relatives ever visiting Nerissa and Katherine.
Much of the royal cousins’ lives remains shrouded in secrecy. What is known is that they were institutionalized at the ages of 15 and 22. Staff at the facility reportedly knew of their noble lineage and noted Katherine’s striking resemblance to the Queen Mother. The sisters were last visited in the 1960s, around the time their mother, Fenella, passed away. Their father, John, had died of pneumonia in 1930 at just 44. 
The younger sister, Katherine, in her later years at the asylum
A nurse at the asylum later shared her memories of the sisters in an interview. Though unable to speak, they used gestures and noises to communicate. Yet, according to staff, they understood almost everything. Caregivers felt deep sympathy for Nerissa and Katherine, who were never visited and effectively written out of royal history. 
When Nerissa died in 1986, she was buried in the asylum’s graveyard beneath a simple marker bearing only her name and a serial number.
Although an anonymous benefactor purchased a proper headstone for Nerissa a year later, life did not improve for her surviving sister, Katherine. She remained at the facility until it closed in 1997, after which she was moved to a care home in Surrey. Katherine passed away in 2014, her death going virtually unnoticed.
Many mysteries surrounding the royal family remain unsolved, and only now are the secrets hidden by Princess Diana slowly coming to light.
