Mary Frances Elphinstone, Lady Elphinstone GCVO (née Bowes-Lyon; 30 August 1883 – 8 February 1961), was a British aristocrat. She was an elder sister of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and an aunt and godmother of Queen Elizabeth II.
Contents
Early life
Lady Elphinstone was born The Honourable Mary Frances Bowes-Lyon on 30 August 1883 in Angus, Scotland, to Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. She was an elder sister of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon known as Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (later the Queen Mother).
Personal life
Lady Mary married Sidney Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone (1869–1955) on 24 July 1910 in Westminster. Lord Elphinstone inherited extensive estates, some of which had been in the family since the reign of King David II of Scotland. He served as a governor of the Bank of Scotland, Lord Clerk Register of Scotland and Keeper of the Signet and Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. The couple had five children:
The Hon. Mary Elizabeth Elphinstone (2 July 1911 – 16 May 1980), who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923.
John Elphinstone, 17th Lord Elphinstone (22 March 1914 – 15 November 1975)