Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO (2 May 1902 – 13 September 1961) was the sixth son and last child of

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (14 March 1855 – 7 November 1944), styled as Lord Glamis from 1865 to 1904, was a British peer and landowner who was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, t ...

, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck, as well as their tenth and youngest child. His elder sister

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

married Prince Albert, Duke of York (the future King George VI) the second son of

King 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 ...

, in 1923 and became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom after the abdication of her husband's elder brother

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

on 11 December 1936.

Marriage and issue

On 6 February 1929, he married Rachel Pauline Spender-Clay (19 January 1907 – 21 January 1996), younger daughter of

Herbert Henry Spender-Clay Herbert Henry Spender-Clay, PC CMG DL JP (4 June 1875 – 15 February 1937) was an English soldier and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1910 to 1937. Early life Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was born on 4 Jun ...

, they had two children: * Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon (2 May 1930 – 1 November 2017); married on 14 January 1960 John Aymer Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, later 13th Earl of Stair (9 October 1906 – 26 February 1996). * Sir

Simon Alexander Bowes-Lyon Sir Simon Alexander Bowes-Lyon (born 17 June 1932) is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and was Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1986 to 2007. He was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in The Queen's Birthday Honour ...

(born 17 June 1932); married Caroline Mary Viktoria Pike (born 27 September 1940) on 11 April 1966

Later life

During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Bowes-Lyon was a member of the secret propaganda department Political Warfare Executive. He was

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...

in 1950 and

Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. From 1660 the office holder was also Custos Rotulorum of Hertfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1553 – * Sir Ralph Sadleir 1570–? *He ...

from 1 July 1952 until his death. On 15 December 1948, Bowes-Lyon attended the christening of his grand nephew,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. He was one of eight sponsors/godparents of the

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, along with

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 In ...

King Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

, Queen Mary,

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 ...

, the Dowager Marchioness of Millford Haven, Patricia, Lady Brabourne, and

Prince George of Greece and Denmark Prince George of Greece and Denmark ( el, Γεώργιος; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of hi ...

. As a keen gardener, he was awarded the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

in 1953 and served as President of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

from 1953 to 1961. In 1960, he commanded the third World Orchid Conference. He was made a

Knight Commander 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 ...

in the

1959 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

Death

He died at his sister's home,

Birkhall Birkhall (from the Scots ''Birk Hauch'': "Birch River-meadow") is a estate on Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, owned by King Charles III. It is located alongside the River Muick to the south-west of Ballater. History The property w ...

, on the Balmoral estate, of a heart attack after suffering from

hemiplegia Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different med ...

on 13 September 1961, aged 59. The Queen Mother discovered him dead in bed. The funeral was held at

Ballater Ballater (, gd, Bealadair) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to cure ...

, and 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 died thirty-four years later on 21 January 1996, aged 89.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes-Lyon, David 1902 births 1961 deaths Younger sons of earls People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford

David Bowes-Lyon Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO (2 May 1902 – 13 September 1961) was the sixth son and last child of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck, as well as their tenth and youngest child. His e ...

Hertfordshire Regiment officers High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Hertfordshire Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...