Edward VIII grave concern that the couple were followed by members of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, who examined in secret the nature of their relationship. An undated report detailed a visit by the couple to an antique shop, where the proprietor later noted "that the lady seemed to have POW [Prince of Wales] completely under her thumb." The prospect of having an American divorcée with a questionable past having such sway over the heir apparent led to anxiety among government and establishment figures. King George V died on 20 January 1936, and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. The
George Mason VI the Mason family to inhabit Gunston Hall. She was later the subject of a lawsuit brought against her by George Mason of Hollin Hall which resulted in the Gunston Hall tract being sold at public auction to her son, from her second husband Colonel George Graham (d. 1830), George Mason Graham on 9 February 1842. Eleanor was given the right to live there for her lifetime. She and Graham sold the property in 1866. George Mason VI was a grandson of George Mason (1725–1792); son of George Mason V (1753–1796); brother of Richard Barnes Mason (1797–1850); grandnephew of Thomson Mason