St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire

Mary Alice Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, (; 29 July 1895 – 24 December 1988) was a British courtier who served as

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

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

from 1953 to 1967. She was the granddaughter of Prime Minister

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a ...

Early life

She was born the Honourable Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil in

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess o ...

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 Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

. Her maternal grandparents were Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran and Lady Edith Jocelyn (daughter of

Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn (20 February 1816 – 12 August 1854), was a British soldier and Conservative politician. Background Born at Carlton Gardens, London, Jocelyn was the eldest son and heir apparent of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Ro ...

and sister of

Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden (22 November 1846 – 10 January 1880), styled The Honourable Robert Jocelyn until 1854 and Viscount Jocelyn from 1854 to 1870, was an Anglo-Irish Conservative politician. Roden was the eldest son of Robert Jocel ...

). Her paternal grandparents were

and the former Georgiana Alderson (eldest daughter of Sir Edward Hall Alderson, a Baron of the Exchequer). In 1903, her father succeeded as the Marquess of Salisbury and she was styled Lady Mary Gascoyne-Cecil. Her older brother,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

became the 5th Marquess of Salisbury upon their father's death in 1947. Her younger brother,

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

, was a prominent biographer, historian and academic.

Functions

She was

from 1953 to 1967 and Chancellor of the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

from 1955 to 1972. She was awarded Hon. LLD (Exon) in 1956. The Duchess of Devonshire had an interest in

Jacob sheep The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origi ...

and kept a flock at Chatsworth House in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. When a

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members of ...

, the Jacob Sheep Society, was formed in July 1969, she became its first president.History of the Jacob Sheep
Jacob Sheep Conservancy. Accessed May 2017. From 1972 onwards, the society published a flock book.

Marriage and children

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 Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, (née Fitzmaurice; 27 August 1870 – 2 April 1960) was the wife of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire. She was the elder daughter of politician and diplomat Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, ...

(eldest daughter of

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, (14 January 18453 June 1927), was a British statesman who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State f ...

). In 1938, he succeeded his father as the 10th Duke of Devonshire. They had five children: *

William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 9 September 1944) was a British politician and British Army officer. He was the elder son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and therefore the heir to the duke ...

(10 December 1917 – 10 September 1944), killed in action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Married to Kathleen Kennedy, daughter of Ambassador

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

and sister of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

(later U.S. president). * Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire (2 January 1920 – 3 May 2004). Married

Deborah Mitford Deborah Vivien Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, (born Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford and latterly Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire; 31 March 1920 – 24 September 2014) was an English aristocrat, writer, memoirist, and socialite. She ...

* Lady Mary Cavendish (1922–1922), who died in infancy. * Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Alice Cavendish (1926–2018), who never married. She served as an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. * Lady Anne Evelyn Beatrice Cavendish (1927–2010), a prison visitor who married Michael Lambert Tree.Eve Colpus, 'Tree, Lady Anne Evelyn Beatrice (1927–2010)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Jan 2014; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 20 April 2017
/ref> On 26 November 1950, her husband Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, had a heart attack and died at

Compton Place Compton Place is a mansion house in the parish of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. It was rebuilt from 1726 by Sir Spencer Compton (later 1st Earl of Wilmington), to the design of the architect Colen Campbell, and was completed after Campbel ...

while being attended by John Bodkin Adams, the suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. 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%.Lowell, Mary., "The Sisters: Saga of the Mitford Family"

Honours

She was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 1946 and a Dame Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(GCVO) in 1955.

Death

The Duchess died in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, aged 93, and is buried next to her husband in the churchyard at

Edensor, Derbyshire Edensor (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 145. Much of the village is privately owned, by the Dukes of Devonshire, the Cavendish family. Most of the decea ...

, near Chatsworth.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devonshire, Mary, Duchess of 1895 births 1988 deaths

Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire Mary Alice Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, (; 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 Gascoy ...

English duchesses by marriage Daughters of British marquesses Chancellors of the University of Exeter Mistresses of the Robes to Elizabeth II Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Wives of knights