Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Mary Alice Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, GCVO, CBE (née Gascoyne-Cecil; 29 July 1895 – 24 December 1988) was a British courtier who served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1967. She was the granddaughter of Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.

Her Grace The Duchess of Devonshire GCVO CBE
The Duchess in 1944
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II
In office 1953–1967
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	The Duchess of Grafton
Personal details
Born	Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil 25 July 1895[1] Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
Died	24 December 1988 (aged 93) Westminster, London, England
Spouse(s)	Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire ​ ​ (m. 1917; died 1950)​
Children	William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire Lady Mary Cavendish Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Lady Anne Tree

St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of the Duchess of Devonshire and her husband, the 10th Duke

Early life

She was born the Honourable Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil in Hatfield, Hertfordshire on 29 July 1895. She was the second daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, and Lady Cicely Alice Gore, who served as Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Alexandra.[2] Her maternal grandparents were Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran and Lady Edith Jocelyn (daughter of Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn and sister of Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden).[3] Her paternal grandparents were Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and the former Georgiana Alderson (eldest daughter of Sir Edward Hall Alderson, a Baron of the Exchequer).[2]

In 1903, her father succeeded as the Marquess of Salisbury and she was styled Lady Mary Gascoyne-Cecil.[2] Her older brother, Robert became the 5th Marquess of Salisbury upon their father's death in 1947.[4] Her younger brother, Lord David Cecil, was a prominent biographer, historian and academic.[2]

Functions

She was Mistress of the Robes to Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1967 and Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1955 to 1972. She was awarded Hon. LLD (Exon) in 1956.[5]

The Duchess of Devonshire had an interest in Jacob sheep and kept a flock at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. When a breed society, the Jacob Sheep Society, was formed in July 1969, she became its first president.[6] From 1972 onwards, the society published a flock book.

Personal life

On 21 April 1917, Lady Mary was married to Edward Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington. Edward was the eldest son of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire and his wife, Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (eldest daughter of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne).[7] In 1938, he succeeded his father as the 10th Duke of Devonshire.[8] They had five children:[5]

• William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (1917–1944), who was married to Kathleen Kennedy, daughter of Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy and sister of John F. Kennedy (later U.S. President).[9] William was killed in action in the Second World War.[10]
• Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire (1920–2004),[11] who married Deborah Mitford.[12]
• Lady Mary Cavendish (1922–1922), who died in infancy.[12]
• Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Alice Cavendish (1926–2018), who never married. She served as an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.[12]
• Lady Anne Evelyn Beatrice Cavendish (1927–2010), a prison visitor who married Michael Lambert Tree.[13]

On 26 November 1950, her husband Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, had a heart attack and died at Compton Place while being attended by John Bodkin Adams, the suspected serial killer.[14] In the process of transferring his assets to his son, the death of the Duke fell 10 weeks prior to a required 5-year period, and his estate was subjected to taxes of 80%.[15]

Honours

She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1946 and a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1955.[5]

Death

The Duchess died in Westminster, London, aged 93,[12] and is buried next to her husband in the churchyard at Edensor, Derbyshire, near Chatsworth.

References

1. 1939 England and Wales Register
2. "Salisbury, Marquess of (GB, 1789)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
3. "Arran, Earl of (I, 1762)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
4. Wilford, Hugh (2013). America's Great Game: The CIA's Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East. Basic Books. p. 169. ISBN 9780465069828. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
5. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 1131. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
6. History of the Jacob Sheep Jacob Sheep Conservancy. Accessed May 2017.
7. "Duchess of Devonshire Dead!" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 April 1960. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
8. "DEVONSHIRE DEAD; STATESMAN, DUKE; Former Governor General of Canada and Member of an Ancient British Family WAS LEADING LANDOWNER Master of Historic Chatsworth House Where Mary Queen of Scots Was a Prisoner Often Host to Royalty Member of Historic Family Vast Holdings Profitable" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 May 1938. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
9. "MISS KENNEDY WED TO DEVONSHIRE HEIR; Daughter of Ex-Envoy Bride of Marquess of Hartington in London Registry Office HER BROTHER IS 'PRESENT Reception Held at Home of Lady Hambleden -- Couple First Met at Court in '38" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 May 1944. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
10. "Kennedy's Son-in-Law Killed on Sept. 10 While Fighting With British in France" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 September 1944. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
11. Martin, Douglas (5 May 2004). "Devonshire, Peerless Homeowner, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
12. "Devonshire, Duke of (E, 1694)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
13. Eve Colpus, ‘Tree, Lady Anne Evelyn Beatrice (1927–2010)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2014; online edn, Jan 2015 accessed 20 April 2017
14. "DEVONSHIRE DEAD; 10TH DUKE WAS 55; Former Undersecretary for Dominions, Father-in-Law of Kennedy's Late Daughter" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 November 1950. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
15. Lowell, Mary., "The Sisters: Saga of the Mitford Family"

External links

Media related to Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Wikimedia Commons