Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
Throughout her life, the Duchess of Devonshire was at the heart of British high society. This formal portrait was taken by Cecil Beaton eight years after her marriage to Andrew Cavendish and 10 years before the couple moved to Chatsworth House.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
Described by Devonshire and Beaton as one of the best-dressed women in the world, Fellows once tried to seduce Winston Churchill by receiving him on a chaise lounge wrapped in a tiger skin. Here, she is dressed as the Queen of Africa.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
The eldest of the three literary Sitwell siblings, Edith was a poet and critic, who was part of the avant-garde movement of the early 20th century.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
Dancer Adele Astaire married Lord Charles Cavendish -- the uncle of Devonshire's husband, Andrew -- secretly in the chapel at Chatsworth, in 1932, at the height of her fame. The pair met while Adele and her brother, Fred, were performing in London.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
The restoration of Chatsworth House and its garden became Devonshire's life's work. Here, she sits at the end of the estate's Canal Pond. 
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
The two friends attend the White Ball thrown by Prince Rupert Loewenstein -- a Bavarian aristocrat and the financial manager of the Rolling Stones -- in Holland Park, London.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
A famously glamorous socialite, Cooper -- a good friend of the Mitford sisters -- went to the ball dressed as beautiful Egyptian ruler Cleopatra.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
Cavendish sits on the sofa with the British socialite, known as "Mrs. Ham," and across from the "wickedly attractive" Bloomsbury painter, Grant, in the drawing room at Chatsworth.
Cecil Beaton/Sotheby's
Freud was one of the first guests at Chatsworth when the Devonshires moved there in 1959. Here, he is seen at his house in England's West Country, with his then wife Caroline Blackwood.

Story highlights

Cecil Beaton was one of the 20th century's most famous portraitist

He's best known for taking Queen Elizabeth II's official coronation portrait

Beaton's photos of socialite Deborah Devonshire and her friends go on display in March

CNN  — 

Celebrated portraitist Cecil Beaton is renowned for his images of Queen Elizabeth II and Golden Age Hollywood starlets including Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.

But when he wasn’t photographing stars for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines, he turned his lens on his wealthy friends, capturing the glamorous lives of England’s aristocrats and socialites.

One of his favorite subjects was Deborah Devonshire, the youngest of the six infamous Mitford sisters whose stylish, sometimes scandalous exploits dominated the English society pages in the mid-20th century.

From March 19, about 65 of Beaton’s photos of the socialite and her friends (including Fred Astaire and Lucian Freud) will go on display at Chatsworth House, the sprawling estate in central England, where Devonshire lived from 1959 until her death in 2014.

Titled “Never a Bore,” the exhibition will also include the photographer’s thoughts on his subjects, as well as some of Devonshire’s personal items and letters.

Look through the gallery above for a glimpse into the bygone world of Britain’s upper class.