What happened to the most beautiful girl in Britain: Lady Georgina Bullough was once a potential bride for Prince Edward – but debt and the untimely death of her husband mean life is anything but a fairytale

Once hailed as ‘Britain’s most beautiful girl’ and Prince Edward’s potential bride, it looked like she had the world at her feet early in the night.

But Lady Georgina Bullough, daughter of the 8th Earl of Mansfield, who captivated the country with her blonde hair and blue eyes when she appeared on the cover of Tatler 23 years ago, has revealed her life is no longer a fairy tale.

Lady Georgina, once the ‘undisputed beauty of Scotland’, told the socialite bible this week that she had endured fifteen years of misery, including near-bankruptcy and dealing with the grief of her husband John’s sudden death at the age of 54.

John, a Gulf War veteran and former owner of McEwens of Perth, a store dubbed Scotland’s ‘Harrods of the North’, died of a heart attack three years ago and Georgina said she thought of him ‘every minute of every day’.

His passing was an even greater tragedy because it came after the McEwens had stabilized their lives after enduring uncertainty and financial difficulties during its collapse in March 2016 with debts in excess of £4 million.

Along the way, Georgina watched her brother be accused of the ‘Ribena rape’ of a 16-year-old girl, pacified her parents and battled the Royal Bank of Scotland to save the stately home she shared with John.

Born into what many consider to be enviable wealth and privilege, the woman’s physical and mental health took a hit as she confessed that ‘I had to search my mind, my heart and my body.’

Now back from the ‘brink of collapse’, Lady Bullough reflected on how life’s best-laid plans can go awry in the latest issue of Tatler.

She was once touted as ‘Britain’s most beautiful girl’ and the possible bride of Prince Edward; it seemed the world was at Lady Georgina’s feet earlier in the night.

Lady Georgina, known as Gina to her friends, grew up at historic Scone Palace, a 27,000-acre estate in Perthshire with polo grounds, a racecourse and extensive shooting and fishing rights on the River Tay.

For many years it housed the Stone of Scone, which was used for centuries in the coronations of Scottish kings, including Robert the Bruce.

Instead of marrying into royalty, as perhaps expected of her, Georgina married John Bullough, a former Scots Guard officer and heir to the McEwens estate from Perth, in 1998.

The wedding reception was held in Scone with 500 guests in attendance.

Georgina’s father, William Murray, was worth £60 million in 2012, when shockwaves were sent through aristocratic circles after his younger son, James Murray, was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl.

James, who was working as an IT consultant at the time, was accused of attacking the foster girl in June 2010 after getting her drunk at her Oxford flat.

The younger of William’s two sons was eventually cleared of the charges following the Old Etonian trial. He told Oxford Crown Court he had a consensual relationship with the 16-year-old but had ‘deeply uncomfortable feelings about it’.

Appearing as a character witness for her younger brother, Georgina described James as naive and ‘easily taken advantage of’.

She told how James traveled by bus for a week after lending his car to a friend for a day, and Georgina told the court: ‘I said he should demand it back. But he didn’t have the determination necessary for this.

‘He always thinks the best of other people. He is never suspicious and does not see problems coming that other people will notice very quickly. ‘He is easily taken advantage of.’

James was cleared of the charges after the jury took just an hour to acquit him after his family said they wanted to move on with their lives after a week-long trial.

Three years later her father died and in 2016 Perth-based McEwens, which Georgina co-owned with her late husband John, took over.

Lady Georgina opened up about the challenges she faced in the latest issue of society magazine Tatler

Georgina and John on their wedding day at St John’s Kirk in Perth. The wedding ceremony took place in Scone with the participation of 500 guests.

Georgina poses for Tatler with her 23-year-old son Hercules, whom she is currently raising on her own

A statement at the time said his thoughts were about the more than a hundred staff facing redundancy.

Georgina told Tatler: ‘We knew everyone; McEwens employed 120 people. ‘There was a lot of responsibility.’

He added that they felt ‘very embarrassed’ after the family-owned department store collapsed and staff they knew personally lost their jobs.

Commenting on the damage this did to John, he said: ‘I saw what it did to someone I loved very, very much, who didn’t deserve this failure.’

John and Georgina, who were married for 25 years before the former Scots Guard officer died in 2023, almost lost their home, Logie House, after the pain of watching their beloved store collapse.

They claimed they were misled by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2018 into putting up their home as collateral to bail out the McEwens, adding that a ‘highly credible’ adviser told them the personal guarantee was ‘just a box-ticking exercise’.

Five years before John’s untimely death in May 2023, they saved Logie House after what Tatler described as a “frightening legal battle”.

John, who was made an MBE for founding the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance and raising £50 million through his support, was in good health when he suffered a heart attack.

Three years after losing her husband, Georgina said he was ‘everywhere’ and ‘his DNA was imprinted on the house’.

She added: ‘I think it’s incredibly helpful for the grieving process.

‘I am reminded of him and those I have lost every minute of every day.’