Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (née Cavendish-Bentinck; 11 September 1862 – 23 June 1938) was the mother of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the maternal-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.
Early life Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck was born on 11 September 1862 at 50 Eaton Place in Belgravia, Westminster,Davies, p. 74 the eldest daughter of the Rev. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (grandson of British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland) and his wife Louisa (née Burnaby).
On 16 July 1881, she married Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, at St Peter's Church, Petersham, Surrey.Civil Registration Indexes: Marriages General Register Office, England and Wales Jul–Sep 1881 Richmond, Surrey vol. 2a, p. 549; White, G. H. (1953) The Complete Peerage: Volume XII Part I, p. 402. (St. Catherine Press, London) They had ten children. Claude inherited his father's title of Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904, whereupon Cecilia became Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
The Strathmore estates included two stately homes and their surroundings: Glamis Castle, where Cecilia designed the Italian garden,Forbes, p. 28 and St Paul's Walden Bury. Cecilia was described as a gregarious and accomplished hostess who played the piano wellForbes, p. 29 and managed her houses with care and a practical approach.Forbes, pp. 9, 28 According to The Times, she was deeply religious, a keen gardener and embroiderer, and preferred a quiet family life.
During World War I, Glamis Castle served as a convalescent hospital for the wounded, in which she took an active part until she developed cancer and was forced into invalidity.Vickers, p. 46 In October 1921 she underwent a hysterectomy,Vickers, p. 48 and by May 1922 was in recovery. In January 1923 she celebrated the engagement of her youngest daughter, Elizabeth, to the King's son, Prince Albert, Duke of York, later George VI.The Times (London) Thursday, 23 June 1938; p. 16; col. D When asked by pressmen for a photograph during the Edward VIII abdication crisis, she reportedly said, "I shouldn't waste a photograph on me." At the coronation of their son-in-law and daughter, the Earl and Countess were seated in the royal box, along with the immediate royal family.
Death Lady Strathmore suffered a heart attack in April 1938 during the wedding of her granddaughter, Anne Bowes-Lyon (later Princess of Denmark), to Viscount Anson.Vickers, p. 176 She died eight weeks later on 23 June at 38 Cumberland Mansions, near Bryanston Square in London, aged 75. Lady Strathmore outlived four of her ten children. She was buried on 27 June at Glamis Castle.
Children Name Birth DeathAge NotesThe Hon. Violet Hyacinth Bowes-Lyon17 April 188217 October 189311 yearsShe died from diphtheria and was buried at St Andrew's Church, Ham.Vickers, p. 7. She was never styled 'Lady' because she died before her father succeeded to the Earldom.Lady Mary Frances Bowes-Lyon30 August 18838 February 196177 yearsShe married Sidney Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone; in 1910, and had issue.Patrick Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis25 May 194964 yearsHe married Lady Dorothy Osborne (daughter of George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds) in 1908, and had issue. In 1944, he became 15th and 2nd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.Lieutenant The Hon. John Bowes-Lyon1 April 18867 February 193043 yearsKnown as Jock,Forbes, p. 3. he married The Hon. Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (daughter of Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton) in 1914, and had issue.The Hon. Alexander Francis Bowes-Lyon14 April 188719 October 191124 yearsKnown as Alec, he died in his sleep of a tumour at the base of the cerebrum, unmarried.Vickers, p. 13.Captain The Hon. Fergus Bowes-Lyon18 April 188926 yearsHe married Lady Christian Norah Dawson-Damer (daughter of George Dawson-Damer, 5th Earl of Portarlington) in 1914, and had issue. He was killed in the early stages of the Battle of Loos.Lady Rose Constance Bowes-Lyon6 May 189017 November 196777 yearsShe married William Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville in 1916, and had issue.Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Michael Claude Hamilton Bowes-Lyon1 October 18931 May 195359 yearsKnown as Mickie, he was a prisoner of war (at Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp) during World War I.Vickers, p. 320. He married Elizabeth Cator in 1928. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on 26 April 1923. Their children were Fergus Bowes-Lyon, 17th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Lady Mary Colman, Lady Patricia Tetley and Albemarle Bowes-Lyon. He died of asthma and heart failure in Bedfordshire.Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon4 August 190030 March 2002101 yearsIn 1923, she married the future King George VI, and had issue, including Queen Elizabeth II. She became queen consort and empress consort of India in 1936, and in later life, after the death of her husband, she was known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.The Hon. Sir David Bowes-Lyon2 May 190213 September 196159 yearsHe married Rachel Clay in 1929, and had issue.
Ancestry
References
Sources Davies, Edward J., "Some Connections of the Birds of Warwickshire", The Genealogist, 26(2012):58–76 Forbes, Grania, My Darling Buffy: The Early Life of The Queen Mother (Headline Book Publishing, 1999); Vickers, Hugo, Elizabeth: The Queen Mother (Arrow Books/Random House, 2006);
External links