Margaret Elisabeth Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (; 23 December 1918 – 2 June 1983), later Hambro, was a Scottish activist and noblewoman.

Early life and background

She was born in

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, Ireland, the daughter of

Frederick Bradshaw McConnel Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, Captain in the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, and Frances Elizabeth Pringle. The family later moved to

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

William McConnel William McConnel (1810 – 10 October 1902) (sometimes written: William McConnell) was a British industrialist and mill-owner from Lancashire, England. He founded the Aberdovey Slate Company that ran the Bryn Eglwys slate quarry from 1863 onwar ...

was her great-grandfather.

Marriages and issue

Sometime before 1953, Margaret married Lt.-Col. James Church; the couple were divorced in December 1953. On 5 January 1954 at

Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...

, Margaret married

George Innes-Ker, 9th Duke of Roxburghe George Victor Robert John Innes-Ker, 9th Duke of Roxburghe (7 September 1913 – 26 September 1974) was the son of Henry John Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe and Mary Goelet. He succeeded his father in 1932. Early life George Victor Robert Joh ...

. Together, they had: *

Guy David Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe Guy David Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe (18 November 1954 – 29 August 2019), was a British aristocrat. Early life Guy David Innes Ker was born on 18 November 1954, the eldest son of the 9th Duke by his second wife (Margaret) Elisabeth McC ...

(18 November 1954 – 29 August 2019) * Lord Robert Anthony Innes-Ker (b. 28 May 1959); married 1996 (separated) Katherine Pelly, and has issue, one son and one daughter. Lord Roxburghe died in 1974, and their elder son, Guy, succeeded him to the dukedom. In 1976, Margaret married

Jocelyn Hambro Major Jocelyn Olaf Hambro MC (7 March 1919 – 19 June 1994) was a British merchant banker, horsebreeder and philanthropist. He was the chairman of Hambros Bank from 1965 to 1972. Early life Jocelyn Olaf Hambro was born on 7 March 1919 on Uppe ...

, who survived her.

Work and legacy

Margaret served as chairman of the National Society for Cancer Relief from 1964 until her death. She was credited with furthering the level of care in the United Kingdom for people with cancer through her activities and fundraising, including the construction of twelve continuing care homes, and introducing home care nursing services to allow people to receive treatment at home. After her death in 1983, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote that her contributions were "even more remarkable when viewed in the light of her continuing struggle against cancer over the past five years."

References

1918 births 1983 deaths People from Coleraine, County Londonderry British duchesses by marriage {{Scotland-duke-stub