Lady Mary Russell ( Baillie-Hamilton; 13 January 1934 – 18 September 2022) was a Scottish

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

who was a

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

at the

coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

. She was the youngest maid of honour at the Queen's coronation.

Early life and family

Russell was born as Mary Baillie-Hamilton on 13 January 1934 to

George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington (18 September 1894 – 17 April 1986), was a Scottish peer from 1917 to 1986. Life Haddington was the son of Brigadier-General George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning and Katherine Salting (d.19 ...

. Her brother was a British peer,

John Baillie-Hamilton, 13th Earl of Haddington John George Baillie-Hamilton, 13th Earl of Haddington (21 December 1941 – 5 July 2016), was a British peer and politician of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party. He was also a photographer and explorer of the paranormal. Baillie-Ham ...

. Her family is the owner of

Tyninghame House Tyninghame House is a mansion in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located by the mouth of the River Tyne, east of Tyninghame, and west of Dunbar. There was a manor at Tyninghame in 1094, and it was later a property of the Lauder of The Bass family ...

. When she was at the age of 10, a French governess started to homeschool her and continued until she was 13 years old. She attended

Mayfield School, Mayfield Mayfield School, previously St Leonards-Mayfield School, is an independent Catholic boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18. It is in the village of Mayfield in East Sussex. The school was founded by Mother Cornelia Connelly, S.H.C.J., ...

. She married twice, with Adrian Bailey in 1954 and with David Russell. She left behind five children and twelve grandchildren.

Career

For a brief period, she worked at the Turner Archive, part of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. In 1953, she became a

at the

along with

Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill Lady Rosemary Mildred Muir (née Spencer-Churchill; born 24 July 1929) is an English aristocrat who served as a maid of honour to Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953. Early life and family Lady Rosemary Mildred Spencer-Churchill was born ...

Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner Anne Veronica Tennant, Dowager Baroness Glenconner, (''née'' Coke; born 16 July 1932) is a British peeress and socialite. The daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester, Lady Glenconner served as a maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II ...

, and

Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby Nancy Jane Marie Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby ( ; born 1 December 1934), is a British aristocratic landowner related to the Astor family and former member of the House of Lords. Lady Willoughby de Eresby h ...

. In the 1980s, she founded a business called Combe Manor Fabrics and later directed Whitchurch Silk Mill as a businesswoman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Mary 2022 deaths Scottish socialites British maids of honour 1934 births