Lady Mary Ilona Margaret Whitley (née Cambridge; 24 September 1924 – 13 December 1999) was a relative of the British royal family. The only child of the 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, she was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Lady Mary was born at 19,

Lowndes Square Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloan ...

, Kensington, to the Earl and Countess of Eltham, later the Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge. Lady Mary's mother was born Dorothy Isabel Westenra Hastings, a granddaughter of the 14th

Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

. She was a great-great-great-granddaughter of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, a great-granddaughter of the

1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

and a niece of the

Duchess of Beaufort {{unreferenced, date=June 2017 Duchess of Beaufort is a title held by the wife of the Duke of Beaufort in the Peerage of England. In 1657 Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester married Mary Capell and in 1682 the dukedom was created by Charle ...

. Her father was a nephew of the Earl of Athlone and of Queen Mary, the consort to

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, making her a second cousin to Queen Elizabeth II. Lord and Lady Eltham lived on the edge of

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks of London, Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensingt ...

, near Lord Eltham's cousin and his wife, the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and Duchess of York. The young Lady Mary was educated at home under the supervision of her grandmother, nanny, and governess. Often she would be invited to play with her second cousins (they shared great-grandparents, Francis of Teck and his wife Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge), the Princesses Elizabeth and

Margaret of York Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503)—also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy—was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Burgundian State after his death. She was a daugh ...

, who lived near her by Hyde Park (specifically at 145 Piccadilly). When they were in London she would also play with

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and Gerald Lascelles, the children of the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

, who were her second cousins. On 29 November 1934, she was a bridesmaid at the marriage of the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (27 August 1968), born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark ( el, Μαρίνα), was a Greek princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark a ...

Life during the war

When not in London and for the duration of the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, the Cambridges sent Lady Mary to stay with her maternal grandmother, Mary Caroline Campbell Tarratt (died 1955), widow of Captain the Hon. Osmond Westenra Hastings (1873–1933), at Hodcott House, their country house near

West Ilsley West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 332. Location and amenities It is situated in West Berkshire, north of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. The companion village ...

in Berkshire. Her parents remained in London, as her father was a director of Coutts & Company, a banking firm, in the city. When Mary was older, toward the end of the war, she became a volunteer nurse in the blitzed area of London.

Marriage and family

On 9 November 1951 at Kirtling, Newmarket, Lady Mary married Peter Whitley (22 October 1923

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

-25 January 2003) of Leighland House, Roadwater,

Watchet Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, a son of Sir Norman Henry Pownall Whitley KCB, MC. After their marriage, the couple was given the Lord Cambridge's London townhouse in St. James's Square. Peter pursued a career with

Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later ...

and became a managing director before his retirement in 1985. The couple had two children: # Sarah Elizabeth Whitley (born 30 November 1954), who married Timothy Felton (born 8 March 1954) on 18 September 1982 and has two children: Emily Ilona Felton (born 21 July 1985) and Chloë Amelia Felton (born 17 June 1987), the latest descendants of the Marquesses of Cambridge. # Charles Francis Peter Whitley (born 10 September 1961), who married Diana Hewitt (born 8 November 1953) on 25 May 1991. They have no children.

Personal information

Lady Mary regularly attended major royal occasions, but like her father, she did not carry out royal duties. Mary was a junior bridesmaid at the 1934 wedding of her father's first cousin,

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...

. On 20 November 1947, she was also a bridesmaid at the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of Princess Elizabeth to

Philip Mountbatten Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

. She participated in the coronations of both King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and 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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and attended the

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...

every year between 1950 and 1999 (excluding 1955, when it was cancelled due to a rail strike). She attended the following royal marriages: Princess Margaret to

Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fai ...

, created 1st Earl of Snowdon (1960); the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer (1981); Anne, Princess Royal, to Captain Mark Phillips (1973) and

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

's subsequent marriage to Commander

Timothy Laurence Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence, (born 1 March 1955) is a retired Royal Navy officer and husband of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Laurence was equerry t ...

(1992); Prince Andrew, Duke of York, to Sarah Ferguson (1986).

References

Robert Lacey Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of best-selling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford, Queen Elizabeth II and other British royal family, royals, as well a ...

, ''Majesty''

External links

British Pathé, LADY MARY CAMBRIDGE video newsreel film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Mary 1924 births 1999 deaths People from Kensington Daughters of British marquesses British people of German descent British people of English descent

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...