Margaret Russell, Baroness Ampthill, ( Lady Margaret Lygon; 8 October 1874 – 12 December 1957) was an English courtier and

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

volunteer, known for her long friendship with Queen Mary.

Life and career

Russell was born at 13,

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

, London, to

Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp (10 November 1830 – 19 February 1891), styled The Honourable Frederick Lygon between 1853 and 1866, was a British Conservative politician. Background and education Beauchamp was the third son of Henry Ly ...

and Lady Mary Stanhope, daughter of

Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, (30 January 180524 December 1875), styled Viscount Mahon between 1816 and 1855, was an English antiquarian and Tory politician. He held political office under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s but ...

. She married the 2nd Baron Ampthill, a civil servant, in 1894. Lord Ampthill served as

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

from 1900 to 1906. Lady Ampthill was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Crown of India The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Emperor of India, Empress of India in 1878. Th ...

in 1900 and awarded a gold

Kaisar-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...

in 1906. Lady Ampthill first became friends with Queen Mary in 1891, when she was known as Princess May. Lady Margaret was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary in 1911, but was honoured by four monarchs for her charity work. In 1918, she was appointed a

Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for her work with the Red Cross during the First World War and a

Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

in 1946 for her work as a courtier. She was also a Dame of Grace of the Venerable

Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

. She died in hospital in London after a long illness. After her death,

Viscount Templewood Viscount Templewood, of Chelsea in the County of Middlesex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 14 July 1944 for the Conservative politician and former Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare, 2n ...

eulogised her in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and commented on her friendship with Queen Mary:

Issue

Lady Margaret married

Oliver Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill, (19 February 1869 – 7 July 1935) was a British peer and civil servant. He served as Governor of Madras from October 1900 to February 1906, and as acting Viceroy of India from April to Decem ...

Madresfield Madresfield is a village and civil parish in the administrative district of Malvern Hills in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located about two miles east of Malvern town centre at the foot of the Malvern Hills and is less than two ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

on 6 October 1894, two days before her 20th birthday. The Ampthills had four sons and one daughter: *

John Russell, 3rd Baron Ampthill Captain John Hugo Russell, 3rd Baron Ampthill (4 October 1896 – 3 June 1973) was a British peer who served in the Royal Navy in both the First and Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day fi ...

(1896–1973), succeeded his father * Admiral Hon. Sir Guy Herbrand Edward Russell (1898–1977), Royal Navy commander * Wing Commander Hon. Edward Wriothesley Curzon Russell (2 June 1901 – 1982), married Baroness Barbara Korff and had issue * Brig Hon. Leopold Oliver Russell (26 January 1907 – 1988) * Hon. Phyllis Margaret Russell (3 June 1909''1911 England Census''''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915'' – c. 16 April 1998), Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Mary, married William George Preston Thorold (annulled 1942) She died in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, aged 83.

Arms

References

External links

* 1874 births 1957 deaths

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

People from Belgravia Daughters of British earls British baronesses by marriage Companions of the Order of the Crown of India Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Dames of Grace of the Order of St John Ladies of the Bedchamber People from Worcestershire Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal

Viceregal consorts of India Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{UK-baron-stub