[1][2] He left Britain as a young man, became an elevator operator at a hotel in Waterloo, Iowa, and preferred to remain an obscure exile even after succeeding to the title.

[1] Wolseley grew up in a household of servants and maids in Northwich, Cheshire, England,[4] was a cousin of Admiral Earl Beatty,[3] and was educated privately at Bedford Modern School.

In 1923, his first cousin, Sir Capel Charles Wolseley, the 9th Baronet, died without an heir at age 53, after being struck by a car while cycling.

His mother's dying wish was for her nurse, Marion Elizabeth Baker, to visit Sir Reginald and persuade him to return to England.

The day after the wedding, the new Lady Wolseley returned to England on the express understanding that Sir Reginald would follow after he had "straightened up his elevator affairs".