The Hon. John Herbert Bowes-Lyon (1 April 1886 – 7 February 1930) was the second son of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and the brother of

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...

, the future Queen Elizabeth.Andrew Morton, "Theirs is the kingdom: the wealth of the British royal family", Publisher Summit Books, 1989
page 86
He was an uncle to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, although he died when she was a small child, and before

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

was born.

Early life

John Bowes-Lyon was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the university side in three matches in 1906 and 1907, playing as a fast-medium bowler.

Marriage and children

On 29 September 1914, Bowes-Lyon married the Hon. Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (19 August 1889 – 19 July 1966), the younger daughter of

Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton (18 January 1863 – 5 July 1957) was a British peer. Trefusis was the eldest son of the 20th Baron Clinton and his wife, Harriet. Educated at Oxford he played polo with ...

. They had five daughters: * Patricia Bowes-Lyon (6 July 1916 – 18 June 1917) died in infancy * Anne Ferelith Fenella Bowes-Lyon (4 December 1917 – 26 September 1980) married, on 28 April 1938, Lt.-Col. Thomas William Arnold Anson, Viscount Anson (4 May 1913 – 8 March 1958), son of the fourth

Earl of Lichfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...

; they were divorced in 1948. They had two children. Anne remarried

Prince George Valdemar of Denmark Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (George Valdemar Carl Axel; 16 April 1920McNaughton, C. Arnold, ''The Book of Kings'', vol.1, p.187 – 29 September 1986) was a Danish prince. He was a second cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Early l ...

(16 April 1920 – 29 September 1986) on 16 September 1950. **

Lady Elizabeth Shakerley Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Shakerley (''née'' Anson; 7 June 1941 – 1 November 2020) was a British party planner and socialite from the Anson family. She was a first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II and sister of Patrick Anson, 5th Ear ...

, nee The Hon. Elizabeth Georgiana Anson **

Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (25 April 1939 – 11 November 2005) was an English photographer from the Anson family. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice ...

* Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes-Lyon (18 February 1919 – 22 January 1986) * Diana Cinderella Mildred Bowes-Lyon (14 December 1923 – 20 May 1986) married Peter Gordon Colin Somervell (5 May 1910 – 14 October 1993) on 24 February 1960. They had one daughter: ** Katherine Somervell (23 August 1961) is a god-daughter of

. She married Robert W. P. Lagneau in 1991. * Katherine Bowes-Lyon (4 July 1926 – 23 February 2014).

World War I

Before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Bowes-Lyon worked as a stockbroker in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

for the firm Rowe and Pitman. In 1915, he was posted with the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

. Just prior to the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

in that year, he accidentally shot himself in his left forefinger; it was amputated the following day. While receiving treatment in the UK, he admitted having experienced a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in 1912 and also suffered from

neurasthenia Neurasthenia (from the Ancient Greek νεῦρον ''neuron'' "nerve" and ἀσθενής ''asthenés'' "weak") is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves and became a major diagnosis in North A ...

. Late that year, he was posted to the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

and then in the Territorial Army in 1916. After the war, he was twice threatened with

courts-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

after having failed to show on parade for demobilisation. He later returned to his job in the city. On 19 June 1920, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Forfarshire.

Death

The Hon. John Bowes-Lyon died at the family home of

Glamis Castle Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, thoug ...

just after midnight on the morning of 7 February 1930 of pneumonia, aged 44, leaving his widow to care for their four young children. (Two of them, Nerissa and Katherine, were severely mentally disabled.) Three days later he was buried at

St Paul's Walden Bury St. Paul's Walden Bury is an English country house and surrounding gardens in the village of St Paul's Walden in Hertfordshire. The house is a Grade II* listed, and the gardens Grade I. A home of the Bowes-Lyon family, it is possibly the site of ...

. His widow was a leading guest at the 1947

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten took place on Thursday 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The bride was the elder daughter of King George VI and heir presumptive to the British throne. The ...

.Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Roo

/ref> She outlived him by thirty-six years and died on 19 July 1966, aged 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes-Lyon, John Herbert 1886 births 1930 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Black Watch officers British stockbrokers John Herbert Deaths from pneumonia in Scotland Oxford University cricketers English cricketers Deputy Lieutenants of Forfarshire Younger sons of earls