Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk (born Lady Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgina Bertha Duff; 3 April 1893 – 14 December 1945), titled Princess Maud from 1905 to 1923, was a granddaughter of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. Maud and her elder sister,

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, had the distinction of being the only female-line descendants of a British sovereign officially granted both the title of ''Princess'' and the style of ''Highness''. Although Princess Maud did not otherwise carry out royal engagements, because of her position in the Commonwealth's

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Counsellor of State between 1942 and 1945.

Early life

Maud was born at East Sheen Lodge, Richmond-upon-Thames,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, on 3 April 1893. Her father was

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are ...

. He was raised from

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

to Duke of Fife following marriage to Maud's mother, Princess Louise of Wales, the third child and eldest daughter of the future King

and

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

. Maud was christened on 22 June 1893 in the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

. Maud and her sister were unique in sharing descent from both King William IV (through his mistress, Dorothea Jordan), and William IV's niece,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, who succeeded him because he left no legitimate issue.

Princess

In 1900,

granted Maud's father a second dukedom of Fife in the peerage of the United Kingdom with a special remainder providing for the succession of the duke's daughters and their male-line descendants to the title, in default of a male heir. Maud became second in line to the dukedom, after her elder sister

, and her descendants would eventually succeed to the peerage. As a cognatic great-granddaughter of a British monarch (Queen Victoria), Maud was not entitled to the title of a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland nor to the attribute ''

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...

''. Instead she was styled ''Lady Maud Duff'', as the daughter of a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. She was fifth in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

at the time of her birth. On 9 November 1905, King Edward VII (on his birthday) gave Maud's mother the title of

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

. He further ordered

Garter King of Arms Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior king of arms and officer of arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The position ha ...

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

Maud and her sister with the style and attribute of ''

Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...

'' and the style of Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names, with precedence immediately after all members of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

bearing the style of ''Royal Highness''.Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, p. 306. She took part in the carriage procession for members of the royal family when she attended the state funeral of Edward VII in 1910 (she was styled in the ''London Gazette'' as "Her Highness Princess Maud" and her sister "Her Highness Princess Alexandra", both without the territorial designation "of Fife"). She attended the coronation of her uncle, George V, on 22 June 1911 with the royal family, styled as "Her Highness Princess Maud" (again without territorial designation). Maud's uncle, 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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

, in

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

dated 20 November 1917, restructured the styles and titles of the royal family by restricting the titles of Prince or Princess and the style of

to the children of the sovereign, the children of the sovereign's sons, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. The Letters Patent also stated that "the titles of Royal Highness, Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining unrevoked". This had no direct effect on Maud and her sister, whose rank and style derived from the specific promotions granted to them by their grandfather, Edward VII, and George V took no further action to retract the royal warrant conferring the princely title and attribute upon them. Maud therefore continued to use her princely title until her 1923 marriage. Upon her marriage to Charles, Lord Carnegie, however, she chose to be known as ''Lady Maud Carnegie'' (or, from 1941, ''the Countess of Southesk''), dropping her princely title however remained legally a British princess until her death. She rode in the carriage procession with members of the royal family at the funeral of George V in 1936; on this occasion she was styled in the ''London Gazette'' as "Lady Maud Carnegie". She also attended the coronation of her first cousin

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 Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in May 1937, taking part in the procession of members of the royal family, and was officially styled as Lady Maud Carnegie.

Marriage

On 13 November 1923, Maud married Charles, Lord Carnegie (23 September 1893 – 16 February 1992) at the Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London. Lord Carnegie was the eldest son of Charles Noel Carnegie, 10th Earl of Southesk and inherited the title of

Earl of Southesk Earl of Southesk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk, Sir David Carnegie, an Extraordinary Lord of Session. He had already been created Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird in 1616 and was ...

on his father's death on 10 November 1941. Maud and her husband operated a model farm from

Elsick House Elsick House is a historic house in Kincardineshire, North-East Scotland. It is situated in an agricultural area about two miles from the North Sea near the town of Newtonhill; the Elsick Estate is situated within the watershed of the Burn ...

, in Kincardineshire, Scotland. They had one child, James (23 September 1929 – 22 June 2015).

Girl Guides

Maud was a devoted supporter of the

Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...

movement. She was a County Commissioner in Angus and Aberdeenshire and a member of the executive committee in Scotland. She was a recipient of the Silver Fish Award, Girl Guiding's highest adult honour, in 1937.

Later life, illness and death

Princess Maud consistently appeared at the Court of St. James's among the royal family, although she did not undertake official or public duties. During George VI's absence in Africa in 1943, Maud served as a Counsellor of State. At the time of her death in 1945, she was thirteenth in line to the British throne and

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the dukedom of Fife, since her sister's only son Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, had died in 1943. Maud's only son James, Lord Carnegie, succeeded his aunt as 3rd Duke of Fife in 1959. Upon his father's death, James succeeded to his titles in 1992. Princess Maud died in a London nursing home on 14 December 1945 after a bout of acute bronchitis. Her will was sealed in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

in 1946. Her estate was valued at £44,008 (or £1.2 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).

Ancestry

References and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southesk, Maud Carnegie, Countess of 1893 births 1945 deaths People from East Sheen People from Richmond, London British princesses Southesk Daughters of British dukes Edwardian era Deaths from bronchitis Infectious disease deaths in England Recipients of the Silver Fish Award Wives of knights Heirs presumptive Duff family Maud