Editing Elizabeth Bibesco (section)

==Childhood and youth==
Elizabeth Charlotte Lucy Asquith was the first child of [[H. H. Asquith]] (British Prime Minister, 1908–1916) and his second wife, [[Margot Asquith|Margot Tennant]]. As candidly recorded in her mother's 1920 autobiography, she was a precocious child of uncertain temper.<ref>[[Margot Asquith|Asquith, Margot]], ''An Autobiography'', Doran, 1922, vol III, p. 53</ref>

Life as the Prime Minister's daughter thrust her into the public eye at an early age and she developed a quick wit and a social presence beyond her years. At the age of 12 she asked [[George Bernard Shaw]] to write a play to be produced by her for a charity benefit. He wrote ''[[The Fascinating Foundling]]'', which she directed with other children as actors.<ref>Archibald Henderson, ''George Bernard Shaw: Man of the Century'', Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1956, p. 572</ref> 

When she was just 14, ''[[The Times]]'' wrote that "many members of the House have made the acquaintance of Miss Asquith and in expressing their concern for her health, have referred to her charm of manner and to the interest which she has begun already to show in political matters." As a teenager, during [[World War I]], she was given opportunities to do "good works", organising and performing in "matinees" for the servicemen. Her first known literary effort was a short duologue called "Off and On" which she performed with [[Nelson Keys]] in 1916 at the Palace Theatre. In the same year she organised a large show of portraits by [[John Singer Sargent]] at the [[Grafton Galleries]] to aid the Art Fund and a "Poets' Reading" in aid of the Star and Garter Fund. In 1918, she played small roles in two silent war movies by [[D.W. Griffith]], ''[[Hearts of the World]]'' and ''[[The Great Love (1918 film)|The Great Love]]''.{{cn|date=November 2022}}