Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon were born into a very important British family. Nerissa was born on February 18, 1919, and Katherine was born on July 4, 1926. Their father, John Herbert Bowes-Lyon, was the brother of the woman who became Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. This means Nerissa and Katherine were the first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.
Both girls had serious mental disabilities from birth. Doctors at the time said they had the thinking ability of very young children, around three to six years old, and they could not talk normally. Hospital records show that Nerissa could only make sounds that no one could understand and say a few baby words. In 1941, their mother decided to send them to Royal Earlswood Hospital in Surrey. Nerissa was 22 years old and Katherine was only 15 when they went there.
