David Bowes-Lyon

Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO (2 May 1902^[1] – 13 September 1961) was the sixth son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck as well as their tenth and youngest child. His elder sister Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Prince Albert, Duke of York, the second son of George V, in 1923 and became Queen Consort on the abdication of her husband's brother Edward VIII on 11 December 1936.^[2]

On 6 February 1929, he married Rachel Pauline Clay, younger daughter of Herbert Henry Spender-Clay, and they had two children:

• Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon (b. 2 May 1930), married John Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair
• Simon Alexander Bowes-Lyon (b. 17 June 1932)

During World War II, Bowes-Lyon was a member of the secret propaganda department Political Warfare Executive. He was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1950 and Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1 July 1952^[3] until his death. Also, he became President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1953.^[4][5] In 1960, he commanded the third World Orchid Conference.^[6] He was also a godfather to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

He died at his sister's home, Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate, of a heart attack after suffering from hemiplegia. The Queen Mother discovered him dead in bed.^[7] The funeral was held at Ballater, and he was buried at St Paul's Walden Bury.

Ancestry

Ancestors of David Bowes-Lyon

16. Thomas Lyon-Bowes, 11th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne               8. Thomas George Lyon-Bowes, Lord Glamis                       17. Mary Elizabeth Louisa Carpenter               4. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne                             18. Joseph Valentine Grimstead               9. Charlotte Grimstead                       19. Charlotte Jane Sarah Walsh               2. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne                                   20. George Smith               10. Oswald Smith                       21. Frances Mary Mosley               5. Frances Dora Smith                             22. Robert Hodgson, Dean of Carlisle               11. Henrietta Mildred Hodgson                       23. Mary Tucker               1. David Bowes-Lyon                                         24. William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland               12. Lord Charles Bentinck                       25. Lady Dorothy Cavendish               6. Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck                             26. Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley               13. Anne Wellesley                       27. Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland               3. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck                                   28. Edwyn Andrew Burnaby               14. Edwyn Burnaby                       29. Mary Browne               7. Caroline Louisa Burnaby                             30. Thomas Salisbury               15. Anne Caroline Salisbury                       31. Frances Webb

References

1. Thornton, Michael (September 1985). Royal feud: the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Windsor. M. Joseph. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
2. Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist. Haymarket Publishing. 1954. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
3. The London Gazette: no. 239587. p. 3587. 1 July 1952.
4. Fletcher, Harold Roy (1969). The story of the Royal Horticultural Society, 1804-1968. Oxford U. P. for the Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
5. The Lily Year Book. Royal Horticultural Society. 1959. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
6. Proceedings of the Third World Orchid Conference. Royal Horticultural Society. 1960. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
7. Vickers, Hugo (2006). Elizabeth: The Queen Mother. Arrow Books/Random House. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-09-947662-7.