Violet Graham, Duchess of Montrose

Violet Hermione Graham, Duchess of Montrose (10 September 1854 – 21 November 1940) was a British philanthropist and anti-suffragist. Graham served as president of the Scottish branch of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League. Her husband was Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose.[1]

Violet Hermione, Duchess of Montrose, 1877

Early life and marriage
The Duchess of Montrose appears as a canopy bearer in the painting The Anointing of Queen Alexandra at the Coronation of King Edward VII by Laurits Tuxen

Violet Graham was born in London in 1854, the daughter of Sir Frederick Graham of Netherby and Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset. She married The Duke of Montrose, a Scottish nobleman, in 1876. Together they lived at the Graham's Buchanan Castle in Scotland.[2]

The Duchess and her husband had five children:[3]

The Duchess was a canopy bearer for Queen Alexandra at the Queen's coronation.[4][5] In 1911, she was one of four women who carried the canopy over Queen Mary at the latter's coronation.[2]

Philanthropic work

The Duchess held several leadership positions with philanthropic organizations, including serving as president of the Soldier's and Sailor's Families Association of Scotland beginning in 1900, vice-president of the Territorial Force Nursing Service in 1908, and president of Scottish Red Cross beginning in 1909.[1] She was also involved in charitable efforts focused on children. She commissioned a home for underprivileged children built in Loch Lomond in 1891.[6]

Anti-suffragist work

The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League was founded in 1908, marking the beginning of organized opposition to women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. The Duchess of Montrose became the leader of the Scottish National Anti-Suffrage League in 1910 when it became a formal affiliate of the English organization and was a high-profile advocate for the cause.[7][8] Writing in the Anti-Suffrage Review, the Duchess described the goal of the Scottish league as convincing women "of the danger to the State if votes were given to large numbers of inexperienced women."[9] Graham spoke at the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League's Annual Council in July 1910.[10] She was also member of Mary Ward's Local Government Advancement Committee in 1912.[10]

Awards and recognition

The Duchess of Montrose was granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Glasgow in 1907. She was awarded the GBE in 1918, the second year of the order's existence, while serving as the president of the Scottish branch of the British Red Cross Society.[11] A high society profile of the Duchess published in 1904 described her as "the uncrowned queen of Glasgow."[12]

References
  1. Ewan, Elizabeth L. (2007). The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004. Edinburgh University Press. p. 144. ISBN 0748626603.
  2. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelley's Directories. 1916. p. 299. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  3. "Montrose, Duke of (S, 1707)". Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  4. "Laurits Regner Tuxen (1853-1927) - The Anointing of Queen Alexandra at the Coronation of King Edward VII". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  5. Every woman's encyclopaedia, Volume 3. London: 23-29 Bouverie Street. 1912. p. 1980. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. "BALMAHA, NOS 1, 2, AND 3 MONTROSE HOUSE (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MONTROSE HOME) (LB50451)". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  7. "Understanding the opposition: the Anti-Suffrage Movement in Scotland". The Women's Suffrage Movement in Scotland, 1867-1928: a Learning Resource. Women’s History Scotland. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  8. Pedersen, Sarah (2017). The Scottish suffragettes and the press. Springer. p. 122. ISBN 1137538341.
  9. "The Anti-Suffrage Review May 1910". LSE Digital Library: National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage (Great Britain). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Bush, Julia (2007). Women against the vote: female anti-suffragism in Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019924877X.
  11. "Third Supplement to the London Gazette of Friday, the 4th of January, 1918". The London Gazette. 4 January 1918. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  12. The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. Ingram brothers. 1904. p. 443. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
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